My love of the water has been passed down to my kids and I’m so grateful because I know many parents struggle with their children’s bath or beach time fears. My mom signed me up for swim classes at our local Y in Queens when I was kid and I’ve been reluctant to get out of the water since. I was on swim teams, was a lifeguard, and went on to coach a kids’ summer swim league throughout college. Growing up a swimmer definitely benefited me as a mom.
While we don’t have the time or proximity to water to swim all year round, we make sure the kids get plenty in during the warmer months. They’re happier after a day of swimming, and wiped out, so bedtime is a breeze when you have water babies.
One of the reasons I must have taken to the water is that I’m a city kid. There are so many stimuli around, constantly, so submerging myself under water gave me peace. It was gentle and quiet and I was buoyant, for a change. So as a mom raising children in an urban environment, I know how important it is to find opportunities for them to get away from it all and de-stress. Swimming has always been a fantastic workout, in a comforting environment, and I feel it’s made me a great mom in a few ways:
You Can Show Kids How To Be SuperHeroes
My kids loved the thrill of flying over the water's surface as we'd pull them around. And there is nothing more my toddler loved doing in the pool than holding me up with one hand. I would float above his little fingers as he squealed in delight, showing off his prowess.
You’re A Pro At Quick Changes On The DL
I was always a walking dichotomy of Speedos and body shame. As a teenager, I hated my chubbiness, but loved swimming, so there was no fighting the fact that I’d be in a bathing suit, publicly, for as along as I wanted to be in the water. I dealt with this by developing stealthy techniques to changing, inside oversized t-shirts or behind beach towels. Now, I can get a kid out of a soaking wet suit and into dry clothes in less than three minutes. (But swim diapers totally kill my game.)
For A Good Time, Just Add Water
While pool toys, rafts, and snorkel gear are all fun to add in the mix, there is no shortage of games you can come up with just with your human selves in a body of water, big or small. Once my kids could swim, past toddlerhood, we ditched most of the plastic playthings and they were thrilled to just propel themselves through the water, weightless and feeling almost invincible.