A while ago I wrote about how Joshua thankfully had given in crying in the water and had instead come in leaps and bounds in the water .. So much so he voluntarily went in with the aid of his trusty rubber ring while we were on holiday in Tunisia.
So on our more recent holiday to Rhodes we were anxious to make sure that his confidence had not slipped back to fear and panic in the water and from day one of that holiday it seems with the aid of his trusty minions rubber ring he was once again happy in the water.
I can’t tell you just how much this pleases me as a parent, there are several life skills that I think really are imperative when it comes to children’s learning and swimming and water confidence really is one of them.
Children have an amazing gift of wanting to discover and learn and this can cause trouble around water but building confidence and understanding around water means Joshua should be that little bit safer … but first is cracking the swimming!
Three days into the holiday in Rhodes a magical moment happened … Joshua finally agreed to try to use his armbands and within minutes of popping them on he was swimming the length of the pool without a care in the world!
He spent the reminder of the week utterly loving the independence that swimming with armbands gave him and he practically lived in the pool!
It would be fair to say I shed more than a tear at just how precious it was to see his little proud face as he realised he had swam on his own with the arm bands he had avoided for so long!
To keep the water confidence going we are going to start saving for some weekly swimming lessons after all now the confidence has come, now is the time to get him swimming without them!
Yay, go Joshua. Sounds like he had the similar water wobbles that N had. It’s great when all of a sudden they get the confidence. I’ve been bad at taking N over the holidays – he’s only been twice, so it’s going to be a shock going back to lessons in September. I’m hoping that he’s built up some strength with his bike riding over the summer, and his growth spurt, so he’s a bit speedier and can stay better afloat.
It’s great that Joshua’s gaining confidence in the water, I must say I totally agree with you on water confidence being an important life skill. I’m sure Joshua’s excited about the prospect of possible weekly swimming lessons. Thanks for hosting.
Well done Joshua. You’re right swimming is such an important skill and overcoming a fear of swimming is huge. I know I didn’t learn to swim until I was 12 because I was terrified! No wonder you were proud. #magicmoments