Water Time
So Mr. G, like kids all over the world, loves water. To drink. To splash in. To play with. To let it run from his mouth and down his chest. To pour on his own head. Or on his sister’s (because brothers will be brothers).
This, combined with an absolute lack of fear, has given us many, many heart attacks. Usually in terms of ‘oh no, don’t pour that on yourself we’re inside on carpet!’ but also in the case of ‘oh no, that water is too deep for you don’t-!’
To help offset at least that second fear, we got Mr. G a Puddle Jumper.
I was super skeptical, not because I didn’t think the actual items would work but because I figured Mr. G would refuse to wear it and continue to attempt drowning by jumping into water over his head despite a complete lack of the ability to swim. But, the boy isn’t stupid, and quickly realized that the flotation device gave him a pretty big stretch of freedom in the pool. Not ‘mommy ignores me and lets me do what I want’ because that will never happen. But, he can jump in so long as mommy is already in the water (and close to where he is jumping) and he can paddle around more or less unhindered so long as we respect the swimming lanes where people are doing laps and the old people doing water therapy in the shallow end. I did specifically hunt down a name-brand one with fabric that was softer than normal, to hopefully cut down on any skin irritation it may cause. It seems to have worked, as he’s willing to put up with it without complaint.
We don’t make the trip to the pool as often as he’d like and I’d hoped. It’s a good workout for both of us, and he’s always a happy camper for a few days afterwards.
~justamomandakeyboard