Vaughn started swimming lessons on Monday morning. First time doing something unparented - he's growing up so fast!! He started in the Sea Otter class and will move to Salamander and then Sunfish and that will be it for the summer.
I decided to take him to an outdoor pool for lessons. I grew up with an outdoor pool - swimming was a summer thing. I don't really like indoor pools, as they are never refreshing, smell of chlorine and are incredibly noisy.
One of the reasons I gave when asked why I didn't want to be a parent was that I would have to go where there are other people's children. Now I've changed my mind - I don't like going to these places because of other children's parents.
There are 2 particular mothers of kids in Vaughn's class that need to reread the lesson policies they signed off on. Rule 6 states:
"Parents and other children are asked to sit at least 12 feet away from the pool edge/deck so adequate space is available for teaching groups & instructors""
Yesterday, one mom stood at the edge of the deck talking to her son and the teacher the whole time. The. Whole. Time. Today, same mother and her friend were sitting about 2 feet away from the edge of the pool and in the middle of the class, one mother started talking to the teacher because she thought her precious little swimming angel was too advanced for the class and could he move to the next level? Seriously? Shut it off and talk to the instructor after the class is over.
The kids are in a class. A CLASS - this means you go somewhere and let the teacher teach. I'm so happy your kid can put his head under the water, but his flutter kicks are crap and trust me, he's not THAT advanced. I used to teach swimming lessons and no fear does not equal a wonderful swimmer.
And other lady - if your kid is going to scream when someone even looks at him, maybe you should remove yourself so he doesn't get the attention he is so obviously used to getting. Or wait a little while to put him in lessons. It's disruptive. You're disruptive - having the whole class wait while you try and appease your child is annoying.
Could you please also both stand back? A half hour isn't too long to let your child go and have fun with a group of other kids. I know it's hard - but you have to let the instructor deal with it. If you don't, your kids will never respect authority and then we're all in for a world full of entitled little brats.
Okay, I feel better now. I have to go let my kid run in traffic.
Kidding.
