I'm signing up DD and DS for swim classes, and now that DD is 3, she will have to do an unparented class while i do a class with DS. She's really bad at going off to do things on her own (really shy with new surroundings) so i'm a little worried.
What was your/LO's experience like? Any tips?
honeydew / 7283 posts
M is 2.5 - very shy and never wants to do anything on her own. She just started a little hour-long "preschool readiness" class at the school where she will go to preschool in the fall. She had a tiny bit of clinging to my hand the first day but no issues at all once she got into the classroom.
I think I would have been a little nervous about having her first independent class be a swim class, as she's not very experienced in the water. That obviously varies kid to kid though!
grapefruit / 4321 posts
My LO is in day care so she's used to being without me. But I agree with @MrsF: that I wouldn't be comfortable with a 3 year old doing an unparented swim class, unless it was a private lesson. At that age I think there needs to be one adult totally focused on each child. Plus, my daughter would never go in a pool without one of us.
squash / 13208 posts
disaster!
We tried Ballet at 3 and she wouldn't leave my side - then we tried gymnastics at 4 and same thing happened - they tried to take her away from me and she cried -
I would aim for a class that maybe you can stay with her at 1st and then ease into one where you leave!
eta: she is also in DCP and does fine there but classes just didn't work - she is very shy
persimmon / 1396 posts
@Freckles: Our LO did swim lessons over the winter, She was 2.5. She was familiar with the pool and comfortable in the water before these classes though. We were not in the water with her, but we were able to observe from the pool deck. She did great, but she is very independent. There was a little boy there who did better once his parents left the pool area. If they were in sight, he threw a fit.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@Freckles: we did swim classes at 2.5 last summer and they were child only. LO does go to daycare and had never done a parent child class but she did fine. Our swim school had one teacher to 3 kids and I think seeing the other kids participate helped her know what to do. She was a little nervous at first but we did incentives of a kickboard and other swimming stuff and that helped.
Will another adult be there with you or will you be doing the parent class with the other child at the same time as your class?
kiwi / 706 posts
My LO did Mother's Day out this year (age 2) and he cried at drop off for about four weeks but then really blossomed and started telling me he liked it and playing with the "babies" aka kids his age haha.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
My daughter recently started a class where we can observe through a window but parents do not participate. She has never been in daycare or preschool and I was a little worried but she is doing great! We made sure to make it an activity she would be comfortable with. Swim wouldn't have worked for us, but if your dd has been in swim for a long time and is used to it, it could work! Also, just my opinion, but even though the idea of an unparented swim class may make me nervous, if the place is qualified and your daughter has met the prerequisites I would think it was ok.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@Freckles: as you know, DD was really shy too and I was nervous about putting her in any type of class. I decided to put her in semi-private lessons with a friend so she'd have that familiarity... And although she was still shy/scared to go off on her own that first lesson... She started to really look forward to it every week and asked for swim class daily until her next lesson. Then her friend pulled out so now she is in swim class all by herself (and she's even had to switch teachers 3x now since we've had her in swim for nearly a year now), and she doesn't mind at all.
A lot of times the anticipation ends up so much worse than reality. I always play things up in my mind, and my kids surprise me in such unexpected ways. I'm sure your DD will do great, but if she really ends up hating it you can always pull her out and try again later.
honeydew / 7444 posts
@babynumber1: I'm a little worried that once she sees me doing the parented class with her little brother, she'll get upset. Her class starts 15 minutes before her brother's and ends 15 minutes before ours.
@MrsF: @Truth Bombs: Even though she is in daycare (and has been fulltime for 2 years) she is really shy/anxious in new situations. she is not that familiar with swimming but she always expresses interest in going. I'm hoping that will help!
@Mamaof2: That's a good idea. I think i'll see how the assessment goes, and whether DH can come for the first class.
@MamaCate: It'll just be me because i'll be doing it during the day. I'll be doing the parented class with DS and she'll do the unparented class 15 minutes beforehand.
honeydew / 7444 posts
@Mrs. High Heels: I think i remember seeing her/your post on it! I hope that i'm just overworrying, and that she'll be fine. I guess the worst that could happen is we pull her and DS out.
@2littlepumpkins: She's only done one swim program, but that's when she was 6 months old. We've taken her to the pool a few times, and she loves it...which is why we chose swim - something for her to look forward to. It's a reputable swim club, so i'm comfortable leaving her in a class alone. Just worried about her being a drama llama. 
@charlotte: Haha, DD used to call other kids "babies" too!
Thanks for your feedback - i'll see how she does at the assessment and go from there. There's always bribery for me to fall back on!
pineapple / 12053 posts
DD did a swim class on her own at 2 (there is a lifeguard there exclusively to watch the other kiddos while the instructor goes with another kid, so the kids are not left alone or unwatched) and she loved it! It was 2x a week for a month and some kids were nervous the first class or two, others did great and another mom with twins had one twin that cried all through all 8 classes! But she just hid away and kept bringing them. The instructors were totally used to it and said that its just how it goes sometimes. I think that if she is having a hard time, going out of sight is better. The kids that had bad outcomes (didn't go in the water a couple lessons) were the ones whose moms were hovering around so the kiddo could go over to them. The crying twins never got out of the pool and fought the instructors, but went along with it (and cried) because mom was out of sight.
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