Pool Safety

I've mentioned before String Bean's intense fear of swimming. She's only 19 months old, but being near a pool is the most frightening thing for her. How do I know? Well, the crying, screaming and clinging onto whichever body part of mine is closest is a hint.

I've heard a lot of talk about pool safety this summer. I've even had friends suggest to me to enroll String Bean in an infant swimming resourse course. If you are not familiar with this program, go to their website and watch the video. After looking at their marketing videos on the site, you probably are like me thinking, "Wow, what a great idea to keep my kid safe from drowning!" At least that's what I thought until I did some reading.

I checked out a book on infant swimming from our library. While reading it, they referenced this program and I was disturbed. They teach children to float in the water (good) to prevent drowning (good) by simulating drowning (uh....hello?). In short, the instructors dunk your kid under the water and roll them over repeatedly teaching them to right themselves so they can float on their back. The result is a screaming kid (which is exactly what you want them to do when they are floating in a pool without an adult in sight) who is scared to death because of the water they are in. Seems counter productive to me.

String Bean already has that fear of the water! Why would I enroll her in a course that forces her to "simulate" drowning so she can float? We don't have a pool. None of our close friends have a pool. This just isn't a program that would be beneficial to us.

I had a friend post a video of her kid doing the infant resource swimming recently. His screaming and crying throughout the video was too much for me. I turned it off before it was halfway over and after 3 separate dunkings.

The best pool safety tip I have heard this year? Designate a special seat for the adult who is in charge of watching the kids in the pool. Whomever is in this chair is not to be disturbed. No talking to them. No radio. No anything. Every 15 minutes trade with another adult. That way, everyone can enjoy the pool and kids are being carefully watched every second.

For the mental health of my child, we will not be enrolling in Infant Swimming Resources courses. We'll do the gradual introduction instead, which begins with a bucket of water and the hose in the backyard.

Not String Bean's Day

Despite the rain, we are having a good time on vacation. String Bean...has had some challenges.

It all started this morning when we took her swimming. There is a kid's pool here at the hotel! Perfect. We took her down and Mr. Bean got in the pool with her. She was standing up and the water came up to about her chest. I took her bouncy ball she'd been playing with all weekend and kicked it into the pool. I did not know she was going to dive head-first into the water to retrieve it. After a couple seconds fully emerged in the water, Mr. Bean picked her up and she coughed a couple times then signed "all done" repeatedly. For the rest of the 10 minute pool trip, she sat crying, clinging her ball, and signing "all done" whenever she felt like we might make her go in the water again. Sorry, kid. Just because you have a near-death experience does not mean you get out of swimming lessons later. Following the pool, she got a bath. It may as well have been just another pool. Same reaction.

This evening, we were in the hotel room. After a few coughing fits and several looks of "Mom I have something in my throat," I invited String Bean to come sit on my lap. As she was passed from dad to mom, she started dry heaving. Of course, Mr. Bean squealed like a girl and jumped in fear of puke getting on his fashionable clothing. Nothing came up on him.

While sitting on my lap, String Bean started puking up the contents of her stomach. Being the quick thinkers we are, my mother-in-law and I caught all the throw up in our hands. We went into the bathroom and cleaned up the rest. A little on the onesie and a drop on the hotel room carpet and the rest in the sink. Mr. Bean cleaned up the sink, I cleaned up the little bean and my mother-in-law cleaned up the solitary drop off the carpet.

An hour later, and String Bean is sleeping soundly in her room (Yes, it is a 2 bedroom condo we are staying in). It was definitely not her day. Hopefully tonight she does not wake up every 2 hours and hopefully tomorrow is better.