How to Overcome Parent Attachment with New Swimmers by Tom Senkus

Ahhh, what joy a parent has when the child they once held in their arms begins the journey of living and learning what they themselves once learned.  It is common for many parents to admit to re-living their happy childhood vicariously through their fledgling protégé. There are so many ‘firsts' that parent and child teams go through together: the first word, first steps, first sentence, and first day of kindergarten.  In all of these ‘first' events in a young infant-to-toddler- to-child life there comes the benefit of a strong parent-child bond!

There also comes a time when the child will venture out on their own to become self-motivated towards achieving success for themselves in life — be it in the classroom, on the ball field, or in the swimming pool! In the latter, the best help a parent can provide to bolster the confidence of a new swimmer is the planned course of instruction known as the Premier Process which brings together water and swim instruction by certified instructors in stroke-by-stroke basics-to-advanced programs.

Different Strokes For Different Folks:

Premier Aquatics understands that fear is the biggest obstacle to achieving success in any venture! However, the earlier children learn about water and swimming, the less of a chance there will be an unreasonable fear of water to develop.  From the early water basics to the more advanced levels, there will come a healthy fear of water, as well as a respect for water, which takes away the anxiety of swimming, experienced by some new swimmers. 

Letting Go:

The parent-child bond that results from early nurturing, encouragement and support of those event ‘firsts' in your child's life is one of the highlights of parenting.  With such parenting, the child gains a feeling of trust in a world completely new to him or her, that inspires the child's natural curiosity to explore and learn.  Armed with the understanding of the importance of this trust, the instructors at Premier developed a Parent and Me swim program that allows child and parent to have fun as they bond in water, as they bonded on dry ground. Classes have three respective categories dubbed Starfish, Seahorse, and Turtle designed for very new swimmers, six months up to 36 months of age. Following the Premier Process, the new swimmer-to-be is slowly brought to trust the flow of the water around him or her.  New swimmers learn to lose the fear of going underwater, to floating independently; just as parents themselves learn that they need to ‘let go' so the child can own the success of their own independence, as they ‘float' easily to the Turtle phase of independently going under the water, kicking, and doing rollover floats. Feel the joy of hearing your child squeal in delight to mommy and daddy — LOOK IT WHAT I CAN DO!

Take The Plunge

Check out Premier Aquatics Services on our home page. When you’re ready, ‘take the plunge' and contact us today.