Learn to Swim - NOW!
Yesterday, I started to write the previous post about cycling cornering technique (and the wind in France) after a picnic at on the river bank at the junction of the Canal du Midi and the Herault river at Agde. But I’m supposed to be on holiday, and so I gave in to pressure from Daughter to play lions & antelope. I was a very good antelope, with a set of horns made out of a stick, getting suitably spooked when the ‘lion’ jumped out from the tall grass . . .
. . . the tall grass at the top of the river bank, about eight feet above the river. Can you guess what comes next?
Daughter was suddenly standing on grass rather than river bank, with the inevitable sudden, eyes-wide-with-terror disappearance. Sliding, and then tumbling down to the SPLASH in the cold, silty river.
By the time I got there, she’d swum back to the bank, within reach once I’d climbed / jumped down to grab her. The trouble was that the bank was so steep that I couldn’t climb / drag her up without falling in myself. Thankfully, with both in-laws and Wife at hand, we formed a human chain to eventually get everyone back on terra firma & dried / wrapped up / fed chocolate.
OK, so here are the points for this post:
- Yes, more responsible parents would have checked out the river bank, and probably prevented Daughter from getting into such a position in the first place. But then again, children need to experience risk & danger if they’re to grow up with a sensible attitude to life. (and if I keep telling myself that, maybe the nightmares will stop, and I’ll start believing it).
- Daughter had swimming lessons at our local council’s course for six months last year, and hadn’t learnt to swim. So this January, on advice from Daughter’s boyfriend’s parents (don’t get me started on this - so much for the “she’s not having a boyfriend ’till she’s 40″), we joined a local private gym (£45 a month . . . but also handy for my training), and booked her into lessons with Swimtime - about £8 per half-hour lesson, booked in blocks of 6-8 lessons. After only her second lesson with the excellent Fiona and Suzana, she could swim enough to get her out of yesterday’s problems. We wanted her to learn to swim because we live right next to the sea . . . but if you’re a parent reading this, find a great swimming teacher near where you live, and make sure your kids can swim. You never can tell when you’ll be glad of every penny you spent.
I know i shouldn’t be laughing because it could have been really serious - but it wasn’t thankfully so I am. Can just imagine this happening with you guys for some odd reason and then the ensuing scenario - you in river - Cathy and grandparents trying to pull you all out. You causing Grandpa to break a few more ribs…..
I have to say I’m really impressed with your little dolphin being so brave - and all that practice you put in with her along making her dive for rings and getting her to swim in deepish water - must have helped to keep her from panicking.
Well done - and tell the kitten that her ruse for extra chocolate has been rumbled. But i’m sending hersome big squeeeeeeeeeezy hugs across the water.
Both points are wonderfully put, Karl. Too many parents spend their child’s entire life “protecting” them from harm, unaware that they are actually harming them for life.
Wow, I’m glad everything turned out ok.
I totally agree with the post and the suggestion (strong warning?) for all parents to heed… give you kills the tools to survive.
I’m glad that we got our girls in the water early… the program the took was called “Safe N Sound” and focused on safety. They even had a once a month “clothes day” where they did all the lessons in full street clothes… YEP… they basically figure that the biggest risk to a child is that they will fall in the water unexpectedly… of course… wearing clothes. And so they want to teach the kids how to apply their swimming techniques (and more importantly their comfort in the water) even when they fell in the water unexpectedly.
Again, I’m so glad things worked out ok.
There is an interesting passage from Richard Branson’s autobiography on learning to swim, he nearly drowns and his Dad gets wet, both of them take risks and both feel the better for it.
Once your daughter can swim 5 metres on her front and on her back she can join Tynemouth Swimming Club, both my children are in it, their training sessions dominate the weekend, I’ll be there to watch tonight - Friday, and Sunday. The Club teaches them the strokes at just the age where they are most able to take advantage of it. A year in the club is worth a hundred swimming lessons IMHO