Swimmer

LT was terrified of swim lessons last summer, so terrified that we actually quit. This summer started the same, crying, saying he didn't want to go. However, I pushed through, as his teacher suggested, and he has really become quite a confident swimmer. I wouldn't leave him near a pool confidently yet, but he is making progress little by little. For example, 2 weeks ago his teacher got out a noodle and wanted him to balance on it. He grabbed her and cried saying he couldn't do it. The next time we went, he got on the noodle and was cruising around the pool balancing confidently on it. I took him swimming a few days later with his buddy Sofi and I was shocked to see how comfortable he felt in the water and how much he loved swimming and cruising around. He also does bunny hops around the pool, dunking his head each time. Last year it took everything I had in me to get him to do one of these and now he bops around like hes been doing them forever. Swimming is something that meant a lot to Brian and I and we want LT to enjoy the water, but not be scared. We want him to be safe around water. This is a hard balance, but I think this summer is the turning point with him.
Adler has already hit that turning point. He happily jumps off the side, whether you are there or not. I actually wanted him to know what would happen if I wasn't there, so I let him jump in and sink down. When he pushed off the bottom and bopped back up (with a little help from me), he asked for more. Water doesn't scare him. It will be interesting to watch his swimming develop over the next few years to see what path he follows.