We’re in the process of moving into our new house, and Isaac was playing in the downstairs playroom (yes, we’re going to have 2 playrooms). Erin and I had been painting, so we had taken off our shoes. Isaac decided to take off his shoes too and have some fun with his shoes and mine.
He walked around the room for a while, but then he got a little cocky. Which led to…
Today’s post comes from John Brandeis, who writes about parenting and education. His recent work is about earning an online bachelors in psychology. I was actually contacted about this and was asked if I’d be interested in an article about what to pack for your kids’ first day of swim lessons. Bells went off in my head and I was like “YES! We’re starting swim lessons soon!” So here it is:
Swimming lessons are a right of passage for many children, and are often necessary for families that live near bodies of water or own a pool. Some parents are eager to sign their children up for lessons just as an extra safety precaution, but how do you know what to pack for your children before they go to their lesson? Some things may seem necessary, like swim goggles or nose plugs, but many swim teachers will disagree.
The Essentials
Obviously, your child will need a backpack or tote of some sort to carry their belongings in. In that bag you should pack an extra set of clothes, swim diapers or pull-ups if your child is younger and not quite potty trained yet and appropriate swim wear. You should also include a bar of soap in a leak free travel case for the showers- most establishments require showers before and after pool time- and a towel, as these things are not always provided. If the pool that the lessons will be held in is outdoors, pack a tube of sunscreen and possibly some bug spray.
Remember to include a plastic bag to put their wet clothes, swimsuit and towel in to bring home at the end of class.
Just In Case
Leave a list of emergency numbers with the director of the establishment and the swim instructor to put on file, including each parents contact information, in the case of an emergency, or your child falls ill. Also make sure to fill out and sign a medical release form giving permission for both the director and instructor to provide medical decisions regarding your child in the event that they are unable to contact you. A list of allergies and a small bag of any medications, inhalers or other medical necessities are also a good thing to include in your child’s swim bag.
Ask Your Instructor
Sometimes parents can go a bit overboard while trying to ensure their child is prepared and excited for their swim lessons. Check with your instructor before purchasing and sending along excessive swim toys such as pool noodles, extra flotation devices or boogie boards. If your child wears contact lenses it may be a good idea to pack them a pair of small goggles, but still ask your instructor as many will insist that goggles can impair your child’s vision while learning.
Nose and ear plugs may be necessary if your child absolutely needs them, in case of infections or respiratory disease but exercise caution because plugs may hold your child back from learning proper swimming technique, such as learning breath control while in the water. Keep in mind that many instructors consider ear plugs to be a safety issue in a class setting as it impedes your child’s hearing.
You may want to pack a small snack and drink for your child to enjoy after their lesson but get the go-ahead from the instructor first and read up on their policy regarding food in class.
This list may seem overwhelming but just remember that it’s just an hour long swim class, you’re not sending your children to college! So try not to go overboard with the toys and designer swimsuits and your children will be learning in no time.
Ready for lessons. UPF 50+? Yes, he’s that white.
Erin and I have been talking about it for a while, but she finally quit the talking and took the initiative and signed Isaac up for swim lessons at the YMCA. The kid loves water, loves taking baths (thankfully that phase didn’t last too long) and last summer LOVED going to the pool.
Since we have a membership at the YMCA and because our new house (oh, have I not mentioned that? we bought a house) is in a neighborhood with 2 pools, he’s likely to spend a lot of time around water this summer. So swim lessons seemed like a good idea. He starts in June and it’s on Tuesday and Thursdays at 4pm, which means his days are going to be pretty packed. He’ll go to My Day Out from 9-1, then home for a nap, then to swim lessons from 4-4:45. It could be a little crazy, but we’ll make it work.
What’s freaking me out JUST a little is that it’s not a parent/child class. His first swim lessons will be him all by himself in the pool. Granted I’ll be there watching, but I have a feeling it might take him a few lessons to warm up to the whole thing. Having said that I’ll probably be wrong and he’ll go diving in head first from minute 1.
What about you out there? Have you put your kiddos in swim lessons? How did they go? How did YOU do?
Tomorrow I am going to have a guest post from someone discussing all the essentials you’ll need for your first day of swim lessons. It seemed fitting.
We’ve all had it happen to us in some form or fashion. Maybe you’ve been guilty of doing it or maybe someone’s been guilty of doing it to you, but at some point in your life you have called a baby by the wrong gender. I guarantee you that you have.
But there’s an easy solution that I will now present so that from now on we NEVER have to worry about calling a baby by the wrong gender. You can’t go by names anymore, as too many are gender neutral or just new to the lexicon and a crapshoot either way. You can’t go by hair length either, as many boys have flowing locks and if a girls’ hair hasn’t grown in she can look boyish. And clothes aren’t always the best either, as there are lots of gender neutral clothes out there (I’m sure if I had a girl she wouldn’t be that girly looking yet).
So Adam, you are asking, how can you guarantee that I will never call another baby the wrong gender? That seems pretty outlandish!
Well, the answer comes from my years working summers at a church camp and years spent volunteering at events with hundreds of kids. I am TERRIBLE at remembering names and faces, so I became a master of “buddy” and “pal” and all the vagueness that is needed to get through a conversation without letting on that you don’t know their name.
So here it is, in all its simplistic beauty.
Person 1 will be the one without child, Person 2 will be the parent with the child of unknown gender…
Person 1: “How old is yours?”
Note that the sentence just ends with the word “yours”. There’s no need to come out with a guess in this sentence of a boy or girl. You’re keeping it as simple as possible and nobody is going to register (or care) that you didn’t include the sex of their child. If they have multiple children you can simply say “How old is your youngest?“
Now comes the important part, played by Person 2.
Person 2 CANNOT simply answer with an age, that violates the agreement that I’m laying out here. Their reply must include the sex, and it too can be done subtly.
Person 2: “She is 7 months”
Boom, conversation over. One simple, generic question, one simple, generic answer, and you have avoided the whole awkward dance as you just called their child the wrong sex and you start tap dancing and showing shiny objects to get them to forget about your blunder. Nobody is showy about it, there’s just a slight drop off in the question and a very slight addition in the reply.
Keep this in your back pocket and you will never worry about this situation again. Unless you forget the next time you see the kid, in which case I recommend going with all the gender neutral vagueness of “little one” and “munchkin” or whatever else springs to mind. Got me through 4 years of volunteering.
This is what happens when a 2 year old gets his hands on 2 cowboy hats
Monday I had surgery to repair my deviated septum that I’ve had for…well a long time. My ENT swears that at some point in my life I broke my nose, but for the life of me I can’t think of when. That’s neither here nor there, however. What is important in this story is that Erin took Monday and Tuesday off to take care of the boys while I was recovering.
The two days went well, the recovery has been pretty easy, but the one thing that came out of it that really hit me was when Erin asked me last night “So, do you like staying home?” She asked because I’ve mentioned going back to work when the boys are in school a few times and that recently I just haven’t seemed all that into it.
And you know what I realized?
I’ve started taking it for granted. I get to spend my days with two people who I love more than anything in this world. I get to hang out with them, do pretty much whatever we want to do and watch them grow up. I don’t have to go to an office and spend time in pointless meetings or doing meaningless, time consuming tasks anymore. I get to raise my boys and do some freelance work while they’re sleeping.
And that’s a good life. I’d just lost sight of it a little.
A boy, a toilet and a book. Just another day at the office!!!
No, I didn’t write this one today. This post was written by Patrick Wilson, a contributor to the blog BabyStations. We got in touch and he offered up an article geared toward new dads and I figured “Hey, I was once one of those!” and that it’s something that isn’t hit on much. So I let him take a hack at it and I hope you enjoy it.
Having your first newborn child can be quite the nerve-racking experience, but just trust me on this – everything is going to be fine. It may be life-changing and you might not know what you’re doing half of the time, but chances are you won’t be the world’s worst dad. After all, you’re actually taking the time to read stuff like this!
Unlike new mums, dads don’t really get much parenting advice. Most people, especially your bachelor buds, don’t really think being a new dad is all that tough. They won’t give you books on it or recommend articles to read. But the truth of the matter is that dads need a lot of advice and support as well. Taking care of your own kid is going to be a stressful, frustrating, life-long, joyful, valuable, and ultimately fulfilling experience. So for all you new dads out there, here are a few tips to get you started.
Be prepared
If you don’t want your parental responsibilities to intrude on every aspect of your life, it’s best to prepare for it beforehand.
You’ll want to schedule your work and other responsibilities, while paying special attention to the fact that your child will do everything he can to mess it up. From a perfectly ill-timed potty to waking you up in the middle of the night, babies will never respect your schedule. After all, being a parent is a fulltime gig. Nevertheless, you should make an effective schedule and do your best to stick to it. Trust me – if you wing it, you’re going to lose it.
Another part of being prepared is to put together all the necessary things for the new baby. A diaper bag, for example, is an absolute essential for every parent so they can change junior on a baby changing station during outings. If you’re planning to setup your own diaper bag, here are a few things you’ll need:
* Several diapers depending on the length of your outing
* A change of clothes, including the weather appropriate garments like a hat or raincoat
* Baby wipes
* Changing pad
* Diaper rash ointment
* Ziploc bags for waste disposal
Joint responsibility
Remember the mom? You know – that other parent. Both of you need to pitch in when it comes to the kid. Parenting is supposedly a two-person job, which is also why you’ve got to give a lot of respect to all those responsible single parents. If you’re lucky enough to have a partner though, ask them to help out. While asking may be quite unusual once you consider that moms are more naturally inclined to childcare, there are some couples that really need to plan these things out. Take turns putting the baby to sleep at night, giving baths, or changing diapers.
Aside from the obvious benefits of dividing the stress between both of you, giving your child equal time with his father and mother will help him develop into a well-rounded individual. Take playtime for example, mothers tend to play with the baby in a more soothing and loving environment, while playtime with dads is usually more energetic, physical, and noisy.
Find time to relax
You’re a dad now, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve stopped being yourself. Find time to chill out and be yourself again. Have a few beers with your friends or find time for a stress-relieving hobby like woodcarving, biking, or jogging. Giving yourself a few hours to just enjoy yourself will do wonders to relieve stress and help you be a better dad once you get home!
Patrick Wilson is a regular contributor to the blog at BabyStations, an online store selling diaper changing stations and helping companies make their facilities more family friendly.
Back to Adam writing:
I don’t know about all of you, but being prepared is something that I still sometimes struggle with. Not that I don’t know HOW to pack the diaper bag, but that I frequently don’t really how much has been USED out of the diaper bag. This can leave me high and dry (though fortunately never too high or too dry) in some situations. So you need to check your diaper bag every few days even if you don’t think you’ve used much out of it.
And as for finding time to relax, I think I’ve covered that one before. It’s absolutely crucial, for you and for mom.
When Big Brother is Away, with His Trains Will I Play
