Last Updated on 11 October 2021 by Colette
This post features a gifted experience & affiliate links
The theme of this last half term or so of Amy’s Puddle Ducks swimming lessons has been one of absence.  She missed two or three weeks of swimming lessons because either she or I was poorly – we were back for a week, missed another week after being sick . . . I feel like we’ve hardly been there.
What happens we you miss a Puddle Ducks swimming lesson?
Thankfully, Puddle Ducks understand that absences will happen – life happens, children get sick – and unlike with other baby and toddler swim schools, missed lessons generate a “catch-up voucher” which allows you to go online and book another lesson at a time and pool convenient to you.  I love that this goodwill gesture means that your child doesn’t miss out on their lesson and you haven’t lost your fee!
With Amy having missed so many lessons and us not having had time to book catch ups, she hasn’t made huge amounts of progress this half term – however she has really impressed both Claire and I by still being keen to get on and have a go each time we get back in the pool. Knowing Amy, it wouldn’t have come as a surprise if her missed weeks had led to a drop in confidence but thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Although Amy has taken the occasional underwater dip over the last half term it’s still not her favourite thing to do! Little by little, at Amy’s pace, Claire is steadily encouraging her to get more and more of her face wet at different stages of the lesson and she is now fairly happy to blow bubbles with both her mouth and nose in the water. Â The biggest stumbling blocks for her seem to be her eyes and ears – which I think is perfectly understandable! Â For Amy, the particular highlights of her lessons are “cowboy rides” where she rides on my back whilst I swim, jumping in off the float and swimming on her back.
The challenge remains to build Amy’s confidence in the pool. So often she panics when she thinks I’m not holding onto her woggles yet if I let go and she doesn’t notice, she swims really well!
The plan for the new year is to use our vouchers to book in regular “catch ups” on a weekend when Daddy can take her too – she has been asking him to take her swimming fora little while now but he couldn’t with having broken his elbow. I think it’s really important that Dave takes her swimming from time to time, not only so he can see how she has progressed but also so he knows what to do (and doesn’t accidentally take her under with no signal like he did last time!)
I know I’ve shared this video before – but I love it so just in case you missed it first time round . . .
Follow our full Puddle Ducks / Swim Academy journey here!
*Amy swims with Puddle Ducks Greater Manchester free of charge for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions remain our own*
