In the swim

I've always been a bit of a water baby. I love being in the water. The feel, the weightlessness and sensation of being underwater. As a very young child, I used to sit on the bottom of the pool and was constantly being 'rescued' by well-meaning strangers. I'm not a great or a strong swimmer, laps bore me senseless. You're more likely to find me in the 'splash and play' section of the pool.

I really want my girls to love the water like I do. I have so many happy memories of summers spent at the beach or in the pool. Lil-lil started out liking the water but somewhere along the way it all went a little wrong. She didn't hate it, but she didn't want to put her head under and was really anxious in the water. She started protesting every time we went to swimming lessons, once there she didn't mind the lessons but would negotiate endlessly with the teacher about what she would and wouldn't do. It was painful for everyone and I became a little despondent as things seemed to be going backwards.

At the end of last term, the head of the swim school, who had been filling in for Lil-lil's regular teacher, pulled me aside and suggested that things weren't going too well. (Tell me something I don't know!)
So, we decided to put her into a holiday intensive program and I researched which teachers would be best able to help her. Preparing myself for a week of hell, I was pleasantly surprised when things began to improve almost straightaway. Lil loved the teacher and we enrolled in her class this term. Each week, Lil-lil grows more confident and she's improving out of sight. I wouldn't have believed it if you'd told me this a month or so ago.

I'm so proud of her, voluntarily putting her head under the water, happy to put her hand up to try something new and improving more and more each week. We're going away in a couple of weeks – a beach holiday with a visit to a water park – so it's going to be magic to see Lil actually enjoy herself in the water.

That's my proud parental boast for the day!