Yes children cry in our pool

Yes children cry in our pool and we're not afraid to admit it. Any swim school that tells you that they don't have crying children is lying and you should seriously consider why they feel that they need to hide this.

Crying is defined as the production of tears as the result of strong emotion ranging from sadness, pain, anger, uncertainty, love, joy and fear. It is also used as a verbal form of communication for infants, toddlers and children when they cannot communicate in another recognized verbal language or lack the vocabulary to express their feelings at a given time.

The real question you need to ask however is 'Why?'

Why is that child crying at lessons?

Why is that child arriving at lessons crying or just as they are about to get in?

Why is that child leaving lessons crying?

Here are a week's worth of reasons why children cried at lessons this past week;

Infant classes;

They are hungry
They are tired
They got startled from a noise/movement near by (Mum laughed loudly and suddenly)
They can smell/hear Mum but can't see her (Dad was in the pool)
There was another Father in the class with a beard (this baby had never seen facial hair before)
Another baby was crying
Mum is nervous as she can't swim and the baby is picking up on her feeling uneasy
They're teething/don't feel 100%/have had needles in the last few days
They are prepping for a growth spurt/learning leap or going through one and are emotionally and physically out of sorts
The wall/mat/equipment/new swimmers feel different

Toddler classes;

They want the toy another child has
Mum packed the wrong swimmers/towel/drink bottle
The teddy they brought to lessons can't go in the pool
They don't want to put clothes on after the lesson
They don't want to get out of the pool at the end of the lesson
They wanted more than one slide/lolly/sticker/stamp at the end of their lesson
The ground is hot/cold/wet/grassy
They fell over
They just want to swim, even if Mum's not ready, they 'need' to swim like right now!
Their parent seemed startled/grabbed them when they came up out of the water
They are testing boundaries and are transitioning from using crying as their only form of communication to trying to express themselves with verbal language
They weren't allowed to run straight into the water
They just want to stay and play/explore
The teacher sang 'Row row' instead of 'Humpty Dumpty'

Transition classes;

They want to swim with their parent not the instructor or the other way round
They are prepping for a growth spurt/learning leap or going through one and are emotionally and physically out of sorts
They don't have all the words they need to tell their parent/instructor what they want
They don't want to get out
They were told no/wait/later/after/not yet
They weren't allowed to jump into the water whenever they wanted
They don't want to walk from the car/to the car
They kicked their toe getting out of the car
They didn't want that piece of rubbish in the bin

Independent classes;

They wish their parent was in the pool with them
They got water in their eyes/mouth/nose/ears
Their hair/sore/sticker on their hand got wet
They are tired/fell asleep on the way here/haven't had a sleep
They're new and it's all a bit overwhelming
The water feels 'funny'
Batman doesn't swim and they're Batman
Their band-aid came off
They need to go to the toilet
Their instructor just looked 'bootiful' today
They cried last week
Driving straight from the end of holidays to lessons and you're whole routine being out of whack and overtired
They want to be in the big kid class
They feel overwhelmed at the idea of trying something new
They've just come back from a break and are worried they've forgotten everything
They've just realized they can't talk underwater and it was really important and now the'ye forgotten what it was
They feel something is too hard
They want someone to do it for them
There was a buttefly/ant/bug of some description (and remember this could be the one they saw 3 weeks ago)
They want to do their own thing
Their sibling isn't swimming and is getting all the attention from their parent
They don't want to take their new shoes off to go swimming
'That kid' looked at them/touched them/spoke to them
Another child brought a 'stranger' (other parents/older sibling/ grandparent/ friend)
You called them by their given name and not Batman

After school classes;

They are tired from a full day/week at school
They've had a bad day at school where their best friend wouldn't play with them
Daddy flew out for work and they miss him
They got in trouble for running around the pool/hitting their sibling/ignoring their parent
They wanted to go first/last/at the same time
They don't want to stop playing the game on the iPad to have their lesson
They want to swim in the other class with their friend/sibling/another instructor/other side of the pool
They just don't want to it today (admit it we've all had days like this)
They couldn't get the ring off the bottom of the pool
Their sibling ate all the best snacks while they were in their lesson
Daddy's sports team lost last night

These reasons for crying can last for 30 seconds, 5 minutes, or the whole lesson depending on the cause or causes (if a child is unsettled, multiple things can trigger pro-longed crying) for one child. The type, pitch and intensity of cry will also change depending on the child and why they are crying. Remember it is an expression of emotion that they are trying to convey, and as you can see crying is not always related to fear or pain, and can often not even be related to the swimming lesson or the activity of learning to swim. It is a false assumption to make that just because a child is crying, means that they don't enjoy their lesson, won't get better and that lessons are all too hard, especially if the trigger isn't swimming related.

It can be hard for a child who walks in crying to regulate their emotions and just simply 'stop' crying because their parent is feeling embarrassed, frustrated, flustered or overwhelmed themselves. And this attitude can often exacerbate the situation and keep the child crying longer as they struggle to contain their emotions.

Our teacher's are not new to crying children, nor will your child be their last. The instructor is there to guide and support your child in their learning environment and to assess their needs on a case by case basis. They will also guide you in how to handle the current situation based on why your child is crying.

In the circumstance that child is crying because of fear, they will be met with empathy from their instructor and a supportive environment that will break down the skill causing distress into smaller more manageable tasks to ensure that your child feels safe and in control of their situation.

For whatever reason your child is crying in the water remember this, your child is not the only one to have cried at lessons. You just haven't seen any others. And those looks that you feel you are getting from other parents are not judgement, but understanding and recognition that their child sometimes cries too. Hang in there and remember that life as an adult can be overwhelming at the best of times, let alone for a little person.