anonymous / September 9, 2014
As a Menlo Swim School instructor, I’m in the water with your kids. When not in the water with your kids I’m at home with my kids…2 daughters, 17 and 13 yrs. old. So I speak both Instructorese and Parentese!
As a parent first experiencing dropping off a kid at day care and hearing a teacher tell me “as soon as you leave, she’ll stop crying” I was flabbergasted. Can’t be true, I’m Dad, the kid needs me, I understand my kid, all of which was true. Then I sort of hid out and watched and within minutes of drop off my kid stopped crying and gosh…was laughing and playing with the other kids. I was happy and sad at the same time, did this mean my kid didn’t need me?
Trust me, your kid still needs and loves you and you know the specifics of your kid. Trust me, your kid’s swim instructor knows and understands lots and lots of kids.
Your swim instructor knows how to motivate, guide, teach and cajole kids into doing side breaths or flutter kicks or heading over to the deep end of the pool. Your swim instructor, first and foremost, insists that your kid be safe in the water even if it means having a kid sit on the deck for a few seconds while they process that they need to keep both of their hands on the wall and not put their head underwater.
Your kid might look over at you sitting on the bench watching their lesson and know exactly how to get you to respond, I know my kids certainly know what buttons to push.
I know it is hard to parentally “let go” but often that is exactly what we should do and let instructors, be it swim or algebra, instruct our kids. I confess I often sit on the blocks as my daughters are doing their laps in the performance pool just in case they need me. They are practicing their swimming and I’m doing my best to go sit on the grass and get out of their way. Maybe someday I might even be able to sit in the front lobby while they swim and I hope to see you there.