Soaked John

Jet got John completely soaked, yesterday.

It was during Jet's swimming lesson. He's gotten into splashing other members of his class, mugging for the teacher, and basically wiggling a lot between his turn with the instructor. He occasionally turns to look at Joan, John, and I, behind him, to smile at us and talk to us and stuff, too. There's been at least one occasion when he's started turning too far, and I've barked at him to stop doing that, as I thought he'd go in. He's actually cried at me yelling at him that way, so I've tried to curb that.

Yesterday, during the lesson, John was watching him pretty closely and saw that Jet was getting closer and closer to the edge as he was splashing Alex. The instructor was out with one of the kids and was fairly far out, when Jet went just that bit too far and slipped into the water. He splashed like crazy and started sinking. John ran to the edge, and tried to grab a flailing arm. Alex put a foot under Jet to try and keep him on the surface. John couldn't grab anything after two tries. He was very careful not to knock any of the other kids into the pool, as they were all sitting right next to each other, and jumped in. He pushed Jet to the surface, first, and then came up just as the lifeguard blew her whistle and jumped in, too.

Yeah. There was also a lifeguard. It's good to have backup.

Jet didn't even sputter when he came up. He'd held his breath the whole time. When John put him on the edge and grinned at him, he hugged John's head and smiled back. No crying, no freaking out. But he did sit very, very still on the edge of the pool after that. The cool thing was that the instructor took Jet out right after all that, and Jet didn't have a problem with any of it. When she put him back on the edge, next to the other kids, he just stayed put, no more wiggling or leaning over the water. We'll see if it sticks for next week.

John, in the meantime, had quite the job wringing out all his clothing, especially the fleece jacket he was wearing. He also had fun telling me that all during the lesson he'd been thinking about what to do if Jet fell in and had actually been thinking of taking the fleece off and handing me his wallet. He didn't know why he'd been thinking about it so hard, but he had, and when it happened, he didn't think at all, he just did. Next time, we might just say, "Lifeguard! Help!" But I don't blame him, at all, for doing what he did. I would probably have been in there myself if John wasn't in front of me as I'd completely forgotten that there was a lifeguard, too. I mean, hey, it's just clothing that'll dry out.

I think Joan and Alex freaked out more about it than John, Jet, or I. John and I talked about it afterwords, and we'd both been kind of thinking that it was far better for Jet to experience the consequences of leaning too far or splashing others too much than for me to yell at him. This way he gets to learn it for himself in a relatively safe environment so that when he gets into a situation like that on his own, he'll know the consequences.

Soaked John

Jet got John completely soaked, yesterday.

It was during Jet's swimming lesson. He's gotten into splashing other members of his class, mugging for the teacher, and basically wiggling a lot between his turn with the instructor. He occasionally turns to look at Joan, John, and I, behind him, to smile at us and talk to us and stuff, too. There's been at least one occasion when he's started turning too far, and I've barked at him to stop doing that, as I thought he'd go in. He's actually cried at me yelling at him that way, so I've tried to curb that.

Yesterday, during the lesson, John was watching him pretty closely and saw that Jet was getting closer and closer to the edge as he was splashing Alex. The instructor was out with one of the kids and was fairly far out, when Jet went just that bit too far and slipped into the water. He splashed like crazy and started sinking. John ran to the edge, and tried to grab a flailing arm. Alex put a foot under Jet to try and keep him on the surface. John couldn't grab anything after two tries. He was very careful not to knock any of the other kids into the pool, as they were all sitting right next to each other, and jumped in. He pushed Jet to the surface, first, and then came up just as the lifeguard blew her whistle and jumped in, too.

Yeah. There was also a lifeguard. It's good to have backup.

Jet didn't even sputter when he came up. He'd held his breath the whole time. When John put him on the edge and grinned at him, he hugged John's head and smiled back. No crying, no freaking out. But he did sit very, very still on the edge of the pool after that. The cool thing was that the instructor took Jet out right after all that, and Jet didn't have a problem with any of it. When she put him back on the edge, next to the other kids, he just stayed put, no more wiggling or leaning over the water. We'll see if it sticks for next week.

John, in the meantime, had quite the job wringing out all his clothing, especially the fleece jacket he was wearing. He also had fun telling me that all during the lesson he'd been thinking about what to do if Jet fell in and had actually been thinking of taking the fleece off and handing me his wallet. He didn't know why he'd been thinking about it so hard, but he had, and when it happened, he didn't think at all, he just did. Next time, we might just say, "Lifeguard! Help!" But I don't blame him, at all, for doing what he did. I would probably have been in there myself if John wasn't in front of me as I'd completely forgotten that there was a lifeguard, too. I mean, hey, it's just clothing that'll dry out.

I think Joan and Alex freaked out more about it than John, Jet, or I. John and I talked about it afterwords, and we'd both been kind of thinking that it was far better for Jet to experience the consequences of leaning too far or splashing others too much than for me to yell at him. This way he gets to learn it for himself in a relatively safe environment so that when he gets into a situation like that on his own, he'll know the consequences.