Conquering his fear

This is the first year I enrolled Parker in swim lessons. I was a little bit weary going into it because everyone prepared me for the worst. At his first lesson, he didn't cry until about 10 minutes into it and then he screamed, cried, and ran and hid behind anything he could find because he DID NOT want to go underwater! I kept encouraging him (all while he was screaming) and threw him back into the pool when it was his turn-- it was killing me inside but I knew he needed to conquer his fear of going underwater. I told him he would get ice cream but only if he didn't cry and listened to his teacher. Next lesson, he started crying right when we got there, ran and pouted on the lawn and cried the entire time. After the second lesson, I showed him the video I took of him going underwater and told him how brave he was and how fun it is to go under. He watched it over and over about 20 times. Everywhere we went, we told people about his swimming lessons and how fun it was. On the third lesson, I reminded him that if he was a good boy and didn't cry, and I would buy him ice cream. He marched right up to the step with his chin high up in the air, sat down next to his fellow swim students, looked back at me with a brave but still weary smile, and told his teacher he wanted to "kick" (his legs.) He looked back and almost started to cry when I looked him in the eyes and asked him what kind of ice cream he wanted and he replied, with a huge grin on his face: "chocwet (chocolate)!" After that, he pushed his fears aside, and something just clicked. I saw a flicker in his big blue eyes and he did AWESOME! He swam through rings, jumped off the diving board in the deep end, and swam across the pool many times-- all with a huge smile on his face! Talk about a proud parenting moment-- I was so proud of him I could have cried! At the end, he looked back at me and yelled "I get a tweat (treat) now!" What. a . relief. :)

Today was his fourth lesson and he was like a little fish already! Check out how cute he is!

 (Digging in his ear for something...)

 He not only does everything she tells him to, but he does it with a big grin on his face!

 Waiting his turn with his fellow swim friends.

 He jumps off of the diving board without any hesitation! 

He got a well deserved ice cream sandwich for his bravery! 

I love my Parker boy!

P.S. Allison Neville is a great swim teacher! I would highly recommend her!