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Water baby - and bragging granny, I'm afraid!

(35 Posts)
Marthjolly1 Tue 19-Jun-18 15:56:58

I took my DD every Wednesday from the age of 3 months. At 3 she was swimming very proficiently, doing backflips of the edge of the pool. She is now teaching her own 3 yearold who showed me just how she takes a big gulp before diving to the bottom, then coming up for air. And loving it.
Great to see the building of confidence.

NanaandGrampy Tue 19-Jun-18 15:30:07

Lovely Witzend , an essential life skill I feel !

I’m a water baby and now all 4 of mine can swim . From 11 yrs to 4 yrs ! It’s one after school activity I think is worth it’s weight in gold !

Greyduster Tue 19-Jun-18 14:17:47

That’s excellent, witzend; the earlier they start the better. We had GS in the pool at six months and he was doggy paddling quite happily in no time with arm bands, but we later put him in a float vest and, as Lucky did, gradually removed the floats. He moved on to formal swimming lessons and strangely it all went kind of downhill from there. He’s not big on co-ordination and to watch him swim is not a pretty sight, though he gets to where he needs to go, but leave him to swim under the water (and he can hold his breath for a ridiculously long time!) and he is as graceful as a sea lion and a joy to behold. But the main thing is, he loves to be in the water.

Doodle Tue 19-Jun-18 13:46:36

I love children learning to swim. So good for them. Well done to your DGS witzend

Witzend Tue 19-Jun-18 13:43:04

Can imagine that, Luckygirl!
We had something similar with dd, who also learned to swim at 2 - we were overseas and lucky to have a pool nearby with very little else to do (in the middle of a desert). At under 3 she was happily jumping in the deep end and fishing coins off the bottom.
All OK in our 'home' pool, but at a hotel ditto one day, the poor lifeguard charged from one end of the pool to the other, having had a fit at seeing a tiny tot on the diving board, about to chuck herself in!

I felt sorry for him, but once he understood it was fine - no threats of banishment to the shallow end.

nanaK54 Tue 19-Jun-18 13:34:52

Wow - that is impressive clever boy!

Luckygirl Tue 19-Jun-18 13:33:35

one

Luckygirl Tue 19-Jun-18 13:33:04

It is lovely when they are like little fish. One of my Dds was like this at a similar age. We used those cozzies with slots for floats in them. I only put them in the front to begin with as I wanted them to raise her head up, rather than duck her under the water. The next day I took one out without comment, and the same the next two days. I then just put the cozzie on with no floats and away she went.

We actually were threatened with being thrown out of on pool as they said she was too young to be in there without floats! - and she certainly should not have been in the deep end diving! - tsk, tsk.

Being a water baby gave her a great deal of pleasure as a child and I hope your DGS will enjoy himself.

Teetime Tue 19-Jun-18 13:28:23

Ah that's lovely and why shouldn't you be proud of him I bet that's a fine sight.

Witzend Tue 19-Jun-18 13:26:25

Little grandson who isn't even 2 till next month, is swimming! They recently had a holiday with a pool, where he was doggy paddling underwater but hadn't sussed out coming up for air. But right after that holiday he did a whole width of a pool back home - coming up for air and all.

Gdd did much the same last year, but she was a few months older.