Daddy Has The Magic Touch

On Saturday Colin started a swim classes. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. The last swim class I signed him up for was accidentally child-only, but since he clung to me outside of the water on the first class, they let me switch him into a child-parent class. Even then, he would cling to me whenever the instructor came near us and was pretty much horrified to put his head under the water or to lie flat in the water. Even though I know he loves water and going "swimming", I thought maybe taking a class without me (which is all that's offered at his age) combined with water was what was making him so uncomfortable. He told me he really wanted to play basketball, so I signed him up. From the first day, he would hide behind my legs, wouldn't participate if I wasn't on the court with him (thankfully the coach was really laid back and didn't care), and even if I was there, still wouldn't participate if the coach came near us. I told him I wasn't going to sign him up for anything else until he felt comfortable taking classes on his own because it was just a waste of money and stressful for everyone...

Then I decided maybe the problem was me. Maybe he was using me as his crutch and if I wasn't in the picture he could do great. I mean, he does so well at school and all I do is drop him off. I changed my no-classes-for-Colin policy and signed him up for a Saturday class so Chris could take him. He told me he was excited because he wants to be able to swim with his cousins in Florida next year. He may have been excited, but I still wasn't holding my breath. Don't get me wrong, I was hoping for the best, but I just didn't want to set my expectations too high.

Well, Chris and Colin went off to the first class Saturday morning and a half hour later, I received a text message showing my little man in the water not only looking relaxed but like he was having fun! Class with Daddy was a success! He had a great time, listened well, did more in this one class than he did in the entire session he took with me, and is looking forward to going back next week. Chris thinks the change in behavior is attributed more to his age and increased self-confidence. I think Daddy has the magic touch.