you can lead a horse to water

I think it was fifteen minutes. I was trying not to look too concerned, sending encouraging smiles in Madeline's general direction. At Madeline's latest swimming lesson, she sat at the edge of the pool, sobbing, for the first fifteen minutes of her thirty minute class.

Madeline loves going to the pool at our apartment, and is quite happy to try to paddle her way into the deep end, so I'm not entirely sure why her swim lessons have been on the traumatic side. Is it because it's in a different pool? Because neither Chris nor I are in the water with her? I thought that she was mature enough for "real", un-parented lessons.

Nonetheless, the other day she sat on the edge, nose running and puffy-eyed, until halfway through the class her instructor decided that it was time to jump into the pool through hoops of imaginary ice cream. Ice cream. That's something that Madeline definitely approves of. She was off of her bottom in no time, and repeatedly jumped into the pool, into the center of the pool noodle that was standing in for a circular ice cream sundae. And then she was fine for the rest of the lesson.

As we were leaving the pool after the lesson, her instructor asked us parents to remind him to start off the class with jumps next week :)

Comments

[MamaPie]

It's amazing what even invoking the thought of ice cream, chocolate or cookies can do! It works all the time around here, too. I'm glad Madeline ended up having fun.