Saturday, August 4, 2012

Flop

Mica's back float was great in swimming lessons today.


When it came time to dive, he kept flopping. It looked painful.

He's been telling us that his last coach said that he needed to breathe under water when he swam freestyle. Daddy and I both told him that he must of misunderstood his coach. I explained that your head stays underwater until you have to breathe; at that time you tilt your head to the side to breath. I demonstrated. I mentioned that you tilt your head to one side to breathe, then to the other when it's time to take another breath. I watched him swim the freestyle today. What does he do? He kept his head out of the water the whole time, tilting his head back and forth constantly to breathe. He totally misunderstood me. It was funny to watch. I knew what he was trying to do. He swam better before I talked to him about tilting his head to breathe.

Isaak cried almost the entire time last week. It was all because he didn't know his coach. He was crying out my name. I kept thinking, Do I go over there, or do I just ignore that my son is interrupting  the entire lesson? I went to stand up and the lifeguard pointed for me to sit down. She was his coach previously. I know Isaak and all the rest of the kids would do better if they had the same coach. I also know that's impossible.

I had two options sympathize with Isaak (baby him), or be the strict mom (give him a wake up call). I chose to be the strict mom. Isaak cries to get out of things. I always hated hearing kids whine; now I have a kid that whines! I told him after lessons last week in a firm voice, "Listen Isaak you can not cry the whole lesson! Other kids are trying to pay attention to the teacher (he calls them "teachers," when they are really coaches.) They can not pay attention when you are crying the whole time. Mommy is in the room, I'm not going to leave you. Your teacher is nice. You can't learn when you are fussing like a baby. You are a big boy!" Possibly I came off harsh, but I think he needed to hear that. Today I gave Isaak an ultimatum, "If you cry, you will not get school supplies at the store today." Again harsh. Guess what? He didn't cry at all.

He swam the length of the pool twice with no floater devices. All the other kids needed them.


Then the little punk a monk wouldn't go in the locker room until he got to say, "Goodbye" to his teacher (coach). It turns out he likes her after all.

2 comments:

Eat To Live said...

Mica is doing GREAT!! That is wonderful. He will catch on to the breathing thing... He hasn't been at this very long.

I am with you on listening to whinning kids, especially when I go out to eat. That drives me crazy to sit and listen to it when eating. I have seen a kid start whinning in a restaurant and the father abruptly picked him up and left. When the mother was finished she went out and the father came back in to eat. The whinner probably didn't eat until he got home.

I feel bad for you not knowing whether to go help Isaak or not. We want to protect our young but sometimes we have to step back and see if they really need protection... LOL>.... I sure don't envy you.

~ Noelle said...

Glad they are doing so well with swimming... but I feel your pain on the whining, there are times broxton does it and it bothers me.. as I know how the other parents/kids must feel.

Disclaimer

The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: anapeladay@gmail.com