You might have seen already some cute videos of a six month old baby #floating in the #pool happily with a smile on its face.
I won’t deny, it is possible for a six month old to learn how to #float yet, not every six month old will be able to float. What the cute videos are not showing you is the whole, lengthy process that has lead to this adorable final result you're looking at and this process, believe me, is not an easy journey but a challenging one.
As a #parent, or care taker, you know already how much it takes to keep a six month old baby #happy and #relaxed. How much cuddling, rocking, singing and sucking a nipple does it need to stay calm? Only you know the never-ending list of demands of your beloved infant.
Now imagine your little one being happy and relaxed in the pool, without anyone holding it, just floating calmly on its back. So still, without crying – because crying would empty its lungs and diaphragm of air and cause #sinking, without moving – because crunching its abdomens while lifting the knees up, which is a natural physical reaction of a distressed child, would also cause immediate sinking. So there it is, your six month old #baby resting calmly on its back without trying to roll over or lifting its legs up, just staying in this perfect position with its head tilted back, chin and mouth up and its chest and belly lifted up allowing diaphragm to open and fill up with air. Your six months old baby is not upset at all, it is totally fine with the fact that nobody is holding it, no comforting touch or sound around.
Congratulations, if this is the case, your baby and yourself have gone through a long, uncomfortable process filled with fears, tears, pounding hearts, mouths full of pool water and ears full of baby's screams.
Not many babies or their parents are able to go through this long and challenging affair and complete if successfully at the very young age. Typically the very few you can see in the YouTube videos are the children of swim teachers who have been practicing with them since the day they were born. Once you understand all the psychological and physical demands of the process it is up to you to decide when you will send your child on this meaningful and empowering but yet, not an easy journey.
We are all naturally born #heroes and so is your child. Your job is to empower it, to show it its own ability to overcome fear, to make the right move in the right time, to never give up.
It is also your job to do it in the most loving and caring way, understanding your child’s uniqueness which manifests itself through its unique #talents, #strengths but also #limitations. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger some say. Yet sometimes we might get scared or traumatized and left with a feeling of inability in the end. It didn’t kill us but we didn’t save ourselves, we got rescued.
In our case we want your child to develop the everlasting ability to save itself, without any need to be rescued, the ability that will serve it for the rest of its life. It pays off to be patient, to evaluate your child’s capabilities personally and to move forward gradually. This way the #confidence grows naturally and healthy bodily responses develop steadily along the ability to #relax
Comments