The Lesson Swim Lessons Taught Me About Parenting
What are we even doing here? How is this helping him? When is he going to learn this? When is he going to learn that? … And why does this feel like the longest 30 minutes of my life?
These were some of my thoughts after doing swim lessons with my toddler. A very wiggly, excited toddler I will add. After a few lessons, I laughed because this must have been what so many parents were thinking in the parent participation gymnastics classes I coached over the years. At the pool, I was completely out of my element!
What I wish I realized sooner was I just needed to trust the process… By the last few days my son was so excited and so comfortable in the water. He learned how his body moves in the water, how to blow bubbles, and how to kick fast and slow. He practiced following new directions. And, most importantly, he learned to not panic when going underwater. He got to experience becoming confident in an environment that once felt intimidating and scary — that’s a much bigger victory than any list of skills.
That’s the thing about parent participation classes — they’re about the experience, the exploration and the discovery. Courage comes before mastery. While skills develop they are a secondary benefit. Progress looks different for every child, and it’s usually happening long before it’s obvious. As a coach, I knew exactly what to look for. As a mom? I realized I’m still learning to see the incremental steps.
It made me wonder how often this happens in daily life. How many victories am I missing because I’m too focused on the next big milestone or the task at hand? My son is only two and I’m already feeling the passing of time. The saying “the days are long but the years are short” hits hard in this season. So this week here’s an ode to noticing growth and celebrating small wins:
He gets a rag out on his own when he spills something… or more specifically this week when he pees on the floor 🙃
He buttered the garlic bread all on his own this week
He’s saying and remembering more and more cousins’ names
He cracked an egg into a bowl without any shell pieces
He’s woken up from sleeping totally dry at least five times this week
Because I think that’s what growing up is all about — hundreds of tiny moments that slowly add up to confidence.
What small victories are on your list this week?