Monday, June 23, 2008

One of those parents...

Coen started swim lessons last week. It has taken every ounce of restraint I possess to not be an over bearing parent! Coen likes the pool but gets easily distracted by everything. He was getting out of the pool and running to find toys and floats to play with. I would firmly direct him to get back by the pool to wait for Ms. Cellie, his instructor. This never works for more than 2 minutes. There are two 2 year olds, two 3 year olds, and a 4 year old in his class so needless to say it is a hectic lesson. It takes a lot to get those kids reined in, and the 2 instructors do a great job making sure the kids are having fun. The first 2 lessons Coen spent more time out of the pool than in it(his choice). Let me just say we are paying $75 for these swim lessons. This is a huge factor in me not letting him wander around while the other kids are swimming. It feels like I sit there the whole hour telling him to get back by the pool. He's not scared of water, so I'm not a horrible monster, he just gets bored! I was worried he wasn't catching on as fast as the other kids, but he just has better things to do.
So today after Coen started asking to get out of the pool I went inside the house, and a miracle occurred! Coen started listening to his teacher! He stayed in the pool and stopped whining! I think the instructors felt more comfortable being firm with him when I wasn't there, and that's great! So apparently I am the problem... Am I becoming a little league mom? I hope not but I can understand those moms a little better now. I really have to keep myself in check so I don't start yelling things at Coen like,
Get back in the pool! We aren't paying for you to play!
, because I signed him up for lessons so he could have something fun to do with his friends. I just have to keep that in mind when he's being difficult at lessons.
He really did have a great lesson today! He learned how to kick across the pool using a body board. He put his whole head under water 2-3 times and didn't get upset. He really seemed to have more fun, because apparently I'm a killjoy.

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