aquaducks
Day thoroughly loved this one!
Aquaducks is one of those baby swimming programmes which proudly show off pictures of chubby infants grinning and gurgling underwater.
Why would anyone want a kid to start swimming so young? Hmmm. Frankly I don't know. In any case, kids can't actually learn swimming strokes until they are 3, when they can understand instructions and co-ordinate their movements.
I guess it's just fun! Day loves water, he would stride into a pool with no reservations. What the Aquaducks programmes does, for kids below 3, is to get them to like water, be comfortable in the medium and to teach them certain safety tricks -like clinging to the wall. There's no actual Teaching involved.
So today was the FREE trial (yippee!) at the fourth level of Suntec Tower 2. Yes, there is a lovely private pool there on the rooftop and it looks like this:
The only drawback is that bored office workers can cast an eye on whoever is swimming down below but that doesn't bother me.
The coach was Kenneth. Imagine my surprise when Kenneth whipped out a wetsuit for Day, who was originally going to go in wearing tight peach-coloured hand-me-down panties. He said: "The water's colder than the average pool, some kids cannot take it." Here he is wearing his spiffy wetsuit:
There was only one other little boy taking the half-hour class with Day. His name was Aaron and he's in the corner.
And even though Day had to miss his afternoon nap for this, it was worth it. The class was in an adult pool and the water reached up to my neck.
Day loved swimming. Kenneth basically sang songs so the kids can be swished to and fro and thrown in and out of the water, I swam cheek-to-cheek with Day as I moved his legs in a kicking motion, he learnt how to cling on to the side of the pool, how to climb up, how to "fall" in to the pool.
And I was surprised that there are actually pearls of wisdom which relate to kids and swimming. It's not a anyone-can-do-it sort of thing. Some things I learnt from Kenneth this afternoon:
* The kid won't kick if he's in contact with our body. Gotta just hold him under the armpits.
* Gotta keep repeating actions and words, like saying "get up" and moving their knee up to the edge of the pool so they can pull themselves out.
* If we pull their arms further "inland" instead of just clinging on to the edge, they will cling on safely for quite a long time
The swimming was fine. My biggest problem was after swimming. I realized there was no way I could change him and myself. In the end, after I dropped him off a bench while trying to put on his diaper, a sympathetic cleaner auntie offered to help me to carry him while I changed. Day was quite happy with her. Here they are:
I'll have to find a solution to that one...
If I wanted to continue, it would cost $90 a month for weekly lessons, and $160 a month for lessons twice a week.
Hmmm. Not yet, I think. I'll probably just continue bringing him to Bedok Swimming Complex for the moment.
Aquaducks is one of those baby swimming programmes which proudly show off pictures of chubby infants grinning and gurgling underwater.
Why would anyone want a kid to start swimming so young? Hmmm. Frankly I don't know. In any case, kids can't actually learn swimming strokes until they are 3, when they can understand instructions and co-ordinate their movements.
I guess it's just fun! Day loves water, he would stride into a pool with no reservations. What the Aquaducks programmes does, for kids below 3, is to get them to like water, be comfortable in the medium and to teach them certain safety tricks -like clinging to the wall. There's no actual Teaching involved.
So today was the FREE trial (yippee!) at the fourth level of Suntec Tower 2. Yes, there is a lovely private pool there on the rooftop and it looks like this:
The only drawback is that bored office workers can cast an eye on whoever is swimming down below but that doesn't bother me.
The coach was Kenneth. Imagine my surprise when Kenneth whipped out a wetsuit for Day, who was originally going to go in wearing tight peach-coloured hand-me-down panties. He said: "The water's colder than the average pool, some kids cannot take it." Here he is wearing his spiffy wetsuit:
There was only one other little boy taking the half-hour class with Day. His name was Aaron and he's in the corner.
And even though Day had to miss his afternoon nap for this, it was worth it. The class was in an adult pool and the water reached up to my neck.
Day loved swimming. Kenneth basically sang songs so the kids can be swished to and fro and thrown in and out of the water, I swam cheek-to-cheek with Day as I moved his legs in a kicking motion, he learnt how to cling on to the side of the pool, how to climb up, how to "fall" in to the pool.
And I was surprised that there are actually pearls of wisdom which relate to kids and swimming. It's not a anyone-can-do-it sort of thing. Some things I learnt from Kenneth this afternoon:
* The kid won't kick if he's in contact with our body. Gotta just hold him under the armpits.
* Gotta keep repeating actions and words, like saying "get up" and moving their knee up to the edge of the pool so they can pull themselves out.
* If we pull their arms further "inland" instead of just clinging on to the edge, they will cling on safely for quite a long time
The swimming was fine. My biggest problem was after swimming. I realized there was no way I could change him and myself. In the end, after I dropped him off a bench while trying to put on his diaper, a sympathetic cleaner auntie offered to help me to carry him while I changed. Day was quite happy with her. Here they are:
I'll have to find a solution to that one...
If I wanted to continue, it would cost $90 a month for weekly lessons, and $160 a month for lessons twice a week.
Hmmm. Not yet, I think. I'll probably just continue bringing him to Bedok Swimming Complex for the moment.
This entry was posted by Sher, on
Friday, April 01, 2005.
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day looks so groovy in his outfit! and so funny with the auntie!! how, we have our own swimming session with the tips you got lah!
deb
to deb: ya i think i can remember some stuff. but i wont be as good as the instructor la, i dont even know the songs. anyhow, my hubby is keen on sending him for the swim class cos he (day) really likes it. see how la!
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