Swimming Lesson Stubbornness

This would have been the perfect pool for Jordan.

As I mentioned before, Jordan wanted to learn how to swim. I'd like to think it was because we did a Baby and Me class when she was an infant, but there's probably no correlation. It would have been crazy for me to not put her in lessons, because if Jordan wanted to try something, if it was her idea, then she would actually try it. It was nice to see that her usual self-defeating thought processes and self doubts, were not present before the lessons began.

Originally, I put her in a small group lesson, assuming that having only two other children in the beginner's class, would be fine. It appeared to be, and the lessons were progressing nicely. That is, until another child accidentally splashed water in Jordan's face.

Here we go.

She was so angry. Afterwards, she refused to do anything the instructor asked of her. The instructor looked over at me. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't have any suggestions. When Jordan made up her mind, that was it. And she was done swimming for the day. This may have been one of the shortest swim lessons on record. In retrospect, perhaps individual lessons would have been the better choice. Ugh.

On the nights before her lessons, she worried and talked incessantly about what could possibly happen, especially if she knew she would be asked to jump in from the side of the pool. But when she did jump in, she was so proud of herself. It was adorable.

Not surprisingly, when we took breaks from lessons, her confidence all but disappeared. I would take the kids swimming at the YMCA pool, and she acted like she had never taken a single lesson. She would refuse to go under the water, and she would insist on wearing a tube around her waist.

Remarkably, I said nothing. I know, right?! I could put an anti-cringe here, because keeping my mouth shut was not easy. After all the time and money put into her lessons... I may have kept my mouth shut, but that didn't stop a girl about Jordan's age from speaking up. She wanted to know why Jordan was using a baby tube. Ouch. Jordan immediately looked at me and said “I want to eat lunch now.”

And just like that, pool time was over.

Thank you.

Us Too