“Please be patient with me.”

“Please be Patient with Me”

Whether you and your child are new to swimming or are returning swimmers, please be mindful it may take your child a few weeks to adjust and get in to the swing of things. Change isn’t always easy for our young children and a new situation or even just a couple of weeks away from swimming and being out of routine can have an impact on their comfort and willingness to participate. Here at Blue dolphin our philosophy is happy children first, your child’s happiness and positive relationship with the water is our top priority before we move on to the teaching of skills. Our program is specifically tailored to accommodate this period and you will notice the first few weeks are at a slower pace and always child led. Sometimes our children take a little longer to acclimatise and become familiar and comfortable in the water but this is completely normal and mostly expected! This is one of the reasons why it is so important to take things gently and slowly particularly in those first few weeks.

If you have had some time off, babies and kinder age children may take a little more time to become comfortable again, and you may experience a drop off in their skills. This can be concerning and frustrating for parents as your child is no longer displaying the skills you know they are capable of. It is important to know most will experience one or more regressions throughout their swimming journey. It almost always precedes a progression in skills, and in our experience the child is often telling us that they need some consolidation time, so “please be patient with me.”

For our older swimmers at this time of the year, some children may be experiencing a lot of change in their lives with starting kindergarten or school, changing schools, classes or teachers. There may also be possible changes here at swimming with level changes, new lanes and new teachers. Change can be hard for anyone but it can be especially hard on children. We understand that children’s skills and sometimes their behaviour may regress initially. Everyone copes with new changes in their own way and in their own time and we are here to support you and your child through this process. We understand that it may be upsetting and or frustrating if your child seems to be struggling to deal with change, or taking longer than expected to.

If you are experiencing any difficulties please always remember we are here to help support you and your child, discuss any concerns with your Deck Supervisor.