Learn to Swim Now, Learn to Drive Later
by Mark Friedman
8/1/2005
One of my goals this summer is to teach my 5-year-old daughter to swim. We live only a few steps from our apartment complex's swimming pool. And just about every day on her way to daycare, Little Sarah gazes at the pool and asks if she can go swimming when we get home. I usually tell her to wait for the weekend. Since Little Sarah doesn't know how to swim, I stay close and tow her around the deep end. But if she knew how to swim, we could race the length of the pool and search underwater for those bright plastic rings. So I figured it would be easier to teach her how to swim now than to wait until she learns to drive. The first thing she needed, of course, was a new swimsuit. Upon examining some of the two-piece suits at our favorite retail outlet, I wondered who the designer was. Britney Spears? After some searching, my wife, Kim, found a one-piece swimsuit that would do just fine. On this particular Sunday, we covered Little Sarah in sunscreen with an SPF of 2,000, placed a pink hat on her head and handed her sunglasses so she wouldn't become radioactive before the lesson was done. Now we were ready to attack the pool.  |  |  While I like to inch my way into the chilly water, Sarah, with her inner tub on, leapt into the 3-foot section. |  |  |
While I like to inch my way into the chilly water, Little Sarah, with her inner tube on, leapt into the 3-foot section."Oh, Daddy, this is cold," Sarah said. After I adjusted to the water's temperature, I told Sarah that she needed to practice floating. She climbed out of her inner tube after I reassured her that I'd hold her. "Sarah, just lie back and relax," I said. "Pretend like you're going to sleep." "But, Daddy, I'm scared," she said, latching onto me and digging her fingers into my arms. At that point, we decided to practice kicking, since that's the backbone of many swimming strokes.
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