Should I have said something...a really upset child at a swimming lesson

[daffodill6]

Today whilst I was swimming at the gym a 2-3 yr old girl came for a lesson. She was obviously hesitant but the father marched off to the jaccuzzis and the little girl began crying. The swimming instructor tried her best but the Lo was really distraught and this continued for 30 mins! Proper sobbing and screaming 'mummy ....daddy...'

The mum was in the kiddies pool and after 15 mins came to see if all was Ok ... swimming teacher said yes. I didn't comment but think I was cowardly ... should I have said something? Can't think the child will look forward to swimming in future?

The swimming instructor should have said something but i guess they want the parents money, equally I could recognise my child crying on the other side of a pig shed so the parents must have known she was upset, idiots.

I'm shocked that neither parent stayed to watch.

Thanks - its not only me then

Not really your place to say anything, it was up to the instructor if they felt the parents should have come over.

My child was very frightened by water. He had a very unsympathetic instructor who declared ' you will never learn to swim'. thankfully I was always present at the lessons, overheard the comment and asked to change instructors. My child is now a capable swimmer.

surprised instructor let it carry on

Oh please. Some kids need some pushing. And a bit of crying doesn't bloody hurt. The parents know best and I'm sure they knew she'd get over it eventually.

This is the sort of thing that really annoys me. Its not your place and you have no idea how this child is and how caring her parents are etc.

I love my kids passionately but sometimes they need a bit of tough love and pushing to get the best out of them.

You can't molly coddle them and wrap them in cotton wool everytime they cry a bit.

I put my wailing child into the swimming pool once. She was sitting on the side and creating and I picked her up and popped her in. There was an audible intake of breath followed by furious muttering from the mummies on the side. I was a pariah. DD however got on very nicely with the lesson and didn't want to get out at the end.

Don't know about the hysterics. Sometimes my children are just best left. Perhaps her parents thought the same. When you say "comment" - do you mean telling them that their child wouldn't settle or that they were doing the wrong thing?

blimey,the child wasn't being tortured or mistreated - it was a swimming lesson - absolutely nothing to do with you ...
how the parents deal with this is up to them - for all you know they might have been through this palaver before and this is the way they choose to deal with their child.