Children are often emotional during their first few lessons. They might cry and cling to you, but from 25+ years of experience we have found that the best approach is to give them a hug and kiss and allow the teacher to take them in the pool. Our instructors are highly trained and are prepared to work through these typical fears. There are five distinct "types" of crying and our instructors are trained to recognize the differences:
Fear: Clinging to the teacher, swim gym, or side of the pool, shaking, can sometimes be silent/no tears, scratching & climbing the instructor to get away from the water
Separation anxiety: Reaching for, crying for caregiver
Anger: Hitting, splashing, kicking, yelling, or other aggressive behavior
Pain/Discomfort: Water in the nose, grabbing nose, pulling nose, crying immediately after submerging, rubbing eyes
Tired/Hungry: Lethargic, clingy, steady cry, yawning, whining, etc...
Our staff know that there are different teaching strategies for each of these types of crying and they will adapt their teaching to reflect the child's needs.
In many cases, if the parent steps back away from the windows, the student will calm down faster. We do ask that parents not stand on deck during their child's class, as it is distracting to other students and often causes the child to remain upset.
However, if you are concerned about your child or their class, please contact us! We always want to do what is best for the children.