DD5 (yr 1) cannot swim yet. She's a confident girl and over the summer she seemed extremely confident in the water. She happily plunges down under water kicking legs about etc. On many occasions she announced that she could swim even though when out of her depth she cannot actually stay on top of the water! I could see that she wasn't far off though. She started lessons at the beginning of September and liked them at first. She had one week of crying and saying she didn't want to go, but has usually gone along without complaining although I could see that she wasn't mad on it.
Yesterday when I got her back into the changing rooms she burst into tears and told me repeatedly that she just can't swim but they think she can. They took all the biscuits off her arms and got her to swim across the pool apparently, (I assume this means she's nearly there, there is no viewing gallery so I only have what she tells me to go on). She told me that reallyu she needed at least 3 biscuits on, if not more! She was in a real state begging not to go back next week. She said the water kept going up her nose. Then, another mum in the changing room told me that she had been on poolside and saw my dd going under water and the lifeguard actually going over to where she was in concern, then the woman on the side managed to pull her up.
I have always said that swimming lessons is something I'll insist on, but she seems to have gone from ultra confident to completely lacking in confidence over the past few months. I know she would do anything she was told to do without questioning as she's keen to be "good". She's not mad keen on the teacher saying she's a bit shouty, but my dd can be quite sensitive. Obviously the woman needs to raise her voice so they can all hear her in the pool!
What d'you reckon?