Learning from my daughter

I’ve never been a good swimmer. I didn’t enjoy swimming lessons when I was young and only learnt to swim when I was eight. We went on holiday to a place with a swimming pool and I learnt a way of swimming that was good enough not to sink.

In my mid-twenties, I had a knee injury and had another go at swimming. I watched YouTube videos to try and learn some techniques and managed to improve to a passable breaststroke. I tried a bit of front crawl but it was always a spluttering mess. I couldn’t get the breathing right and after 10 metres or so I’d have to give up.

Our daughter is six and loves to swim. She’s been going swimming since she was very young and loves the water. Her Mum took her every week when she was a baby and she has done lessons ever since she was old enough. It’s only half an hour a week but over the years I’ve watched dozens of lessons (hundreds maybe.)

When she was in the training pool you pack into a small room with other parents, looking out through the steamy glass. I’m the antisocial parent in this environment — big headphones on, my music turned up loud.

It’s interesting to watch the progress of the children and their different personalities. Who loves the water and who tries to avoid it? They teach swimming in such a methodical way. Breaststroke legs: mushroom, star, snap; mushroom, star, snap. Using floats in a variety of ways to develop technique and confidence.

Our daughter recently moved up to the big pool. A big step for her but also great for us to be out of the parental box of doom and into the stands above the pool. She’s a proper swimmer now. She does butterfly, which I just think is ridiculous but she loves it!

So at six years old she is way better than me at swimming. It’s the first proper thing where she can now teach me. On holiday I was asking her about how she dunks her head down into the water, without it all going up her nose. It’s so natural for her I didn’t expect her to be able to explain it. We spoke about it and she was able to explain how she had a little bit of breath in her nose.

I’ve recently joined the local pool, as I fancied giving swimming another go. On the weekend my daughter and I went together to the family session. In amongst the wave machine and water fountain fun, we found time for some practice.

We practised some of the techniques I’ve seen her use in her swimming class and she was giving me tips, making sure I was more relaxed and doing slower strokes. These are probably tips passed on from her teachers but they helped.

Yesterday I went swimming and managed a length of front crawl. It wasn’t great but I think it’s the first time I’ve ever done it. I told my daughter when I got home and she said: “That’s great! Well done!”

You learn a lot about yourself from your children but this felt slightly different. It was the first time she was helping me develop a skill. I’m sure it won’t be the last.