They get off their swing, put on their swimsuits and
\ndive into the pool. Some of the little athletes
\nof this report they know how to swim even before
\nwalk!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
By Eleni Daskalaki<\/p>\n
The day I went to the indoor swimming pool for the report
\nof the Olympic Stadium was rainy and cold. A typical
\nwinter day. With difficulty I made the decision to go out
\nfrom my house and I was wondering which parent would go
\nhis baby in the swimming pool in winter weather. But when
\nWhen I got there, my mood immediately improved. A little
\nblue reflection of the water that brought to mind the
\nsummer sea, a little carefree laughter of the little ones who
\nThey were swimming merrily in rows, a little bit of the girls
\nsynchronized swimming that were taking place at that time
\ntheir training, drawing attention to them, I began
\nto enjoy my visit.<\/p>\n
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\nWhile looking for the baby swimming pool, I saw a
\nwarm and cute image. The polygonal swimming pool in
\nideal size for children from 9 months to 3 years old,
\nenclosed in glass to keep warm
\natmosphere, babies splashing around chasing
\ncolorful plastic balls and older children to
\nthey show off their proud parents their clumsy dives, all
\ntogether they were enough to wake up the mom in me and
\nI'm thinking maybe I should bring my son to the babysitting service too.
\nswimming of the Nireas Chalandri Athletic Club. \u201cIt must
\nto be from the magazine. I am Margarita, the
\ncoach of the little ones. But we'll talk about it later because
\n"As you can see, babies don't hold on," she introduced herself to me.
\nsmiling girl and immediately rushed to the pool.
\nReally two little girls, a little older than one
\nyear old, they had put on their one-piece swimsuits and were waiting
\nimpatiently at the edge of the pool for Margarita to get involved
\nin the water.<\/p>\n
One of the two little ones, Marina, with the
\nwho left the safe embrace of his mother and put the
\ncrying. Her mom, much calmer than me,
\nrewarded every time between her moans
\npushed the ball or bathed the baby doll, like
\nthe coach told her. When we moved away to
\nTo calm the little one down more easily, I found the opportunity to
\ntalk to her mom. \u201cMarina is sixteen months old and
\nthis is her sixth lesson. Bringing her into contact with
\nwater and swimming were my desire and
\ndecision, since she herself is too young to be able to
\nexpress her opinion. The fact that she is crying at this moment when
\nShe's with the coach, she won't make me stop her.
\nAnd that's because at home, while I'm preparing it, it's running
\nto bring her swimsuit, she announces to everyone that we
\nnow we go to "congo" - the word he has for
\nswimming pool \u2013 and generally seems happy to come.
\nIf at any time I see her resentful or unwilling,
\nIf she wants to start, then I will respect her refusal.
\nWhen I learned that there are swimming classes for such young children
\nGuys, I was excited, because swimming is something that interests me.
\nI really like it too. My goal is not to
\nlead to championship. My desire is to
\nto encourage sports, a healthy lifestyle and
\nthinking.<\/p>\n
\nBefore we started swimming, the pediatrician gave me
\nhis consent and agreed that swimming was
\nsomething positive for Marina...".
\nIrene, 3 years old, comes to the swimming pool from
\nSeptember and her familiarity is evident. She does
\ndives in the water, opens her eyes in the water and
\nshe swims even without her life jackets.
\n"I was taking my oldest son to the swimming pool so it was
\n"It's natural to bring Irene too," her dad explains to me.
\n3-year-old Irene and 5-year-old Konstantinos who
\nswims with the older children. \u201cSince we live in a country
\nsurrounded by the sea, I believe that our children
\nthey must learn to live with water. It is
\nthe percentage of Greek children who do not know is excessive
\nswimming but also in general of people who drown
\nevery summer at the seaside. So by bringing the children
\nmy to learn to swim properly, I believe that they
\nI ensure a significant level of safety for life.
\nOn the other hand, we see that children who live
\nin Athens, locked inside the house, they don't have many
\nopportunities for relaxation and activity that are important to them
\nso necessary.<\/p>\n
So the swimming pool is for us a
\ngood choice. Swimming is an outlet for
\nenergy that children and adults have within them
\nconditions of our everyday life do not help them to
\nto decompress. Judging from my son, who is a little
\nbigger and swims longer, it's obvious
\nhow much sports have helped him. At five he is swimming
\ncomfortably without a life jacket, his body has begun to acquire
\ncorrect lines and the main thing is that he really likes it
\nswimming and seeks it. I believe the same is true
\nand with Peace, even if it is still fragile."
\nLong dives with the\u2026 diaper<\/p>\n
While we were talking to Irene's father, two little sisters
\narrive. Margarita embraces the youngest and
\ntogether they begin the games and the dives. In a
\nmoment I see the coach diving into the baby and
\nwhere I wait for it to come out of the water... crying, this
\nstarts laughing. His mom looks at him confidently and
\nShe smiles too.<\/p>\n
\n'Very young babies, once they have overcome their natural fear,
\nwhich is mainly for the unknown person with whom
\nthey suddenly find themselves hugging each other in the water, they remember
\ninstinctively the contact with water, as they experienced it in the
\ntheir mother's belly. Babies still have spontaneous
\nreflexes for swimming and breathing inside the
\nwater, something that older children need to
\n"We learn with attention and patience," says the gymnast who
\nis training.
\n"It's not dangerous to bring, say, my baby, who
\n"She's almost nine months old, so she's going to learn to swim," I ask her.
\n"Babies and young children are held in the arms of the
\ncoach the whole time he is in the pool. When
\nbegin to get used to and become familiar with, the
\nwe move away from our embrace, but always holding
\nThen the babies start to dive with their
\neyes open and enjoying contact with the water,
\nChildren calm down and relax, and even more so after
\nswimming they are tired and fall asleep very easily.
\nHowever, the greatest difficulty at all ages is not
\nIt's both the water and the contact with the coach that
\nIt's a stranger who the child needs time for.
\nto get used to.<\/p>\n
That's why in the first lessons the
\nmore children cry. In these cases
\nI'm trying to get to know each other a little outside the pool and in the
\nI then hold them in my arms and we walk around the
\na point where they step, to feel more secure.
\nBut once they get over their initial fear, most
\nthey enjoy swimming and don't want to get out of the pool
\npool".
\nI remember a conversation about the unique relationship that
\nThe kids have the water I had with Vicky.
\nZerva: \u201cFor babies, water is something very familiar, a
\nof their favorite toys. Contact with water
\noffers children peace. In addition, playing together
\nit also gives them practical knowledge about nature
\nas well as helping them learn to coordinate their
\ntheir movements. Children playing with water
\ndiscover its properties: You can put it
\nin a container and take its shape, but it remains the
\nthe same wherever they are. This subconsciously helps them to
\nthey perceive themselves, that in this way we too can
\nadapt to different situations while remaining
\nthemselves. This subconscious knowledge is valuable for the
\nthe child's emotional development and interpersonal
\nof relationships".<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From theory to practice<\/p>\n
When I saw 3-year-old Charalambos getting ready for the
\nhis lesson, I was immediately excited. \u201cThis is mine
\n"ours", I thought, meaning that he is the same age as the
\nmy son Valerio. I watched him with great interest
\nstubbornly trying to swim without a life jacket,
\nhe dives, clasping his hands together and with
\nI was jealously watching his mom brag about him. With a
\nsecret code that moms have to
\nare recognized, we quickly went from the plural
\nof the report in the friendly singular of two women with peers
\nchildren, since our second children have also been born with
\na few days' difference. "The hawk has begun the
\nswimming pool for about three months and he liked it
\nfrom the beginning the contact with water. While many children because
\nthe coaches say, they cry or get upset at first
\nlessons, Charalambos seemed to like it from the very beginning
\n"He is pleased and has made progress very quickly,"
\nsays his mother.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOn the days I don\u2019t bring him, he misses me a lot. It\u2019s a
\nlively child and it is obvious that he needs to
\nto release, to channel his energy. So
\nOn the days we come to the swimming pool it is calmer.
\nand more relaxed. Especially when there is a new
\nbaby at home, the older child needs one
\n"distraction" that will make him feel proud
\nand confident about himself, but it will also help him to
\n"spend his energy."
\nThe work is finished, the report material is
\nenough, but I refuse to leave. I look at the children who
\nplay, learn and make friends in the water. It is
\nvery important to start sports early. So
\nwe lay the foundation for them to love exercise and
\nhealthy life, to consider them part of their lives, which
\n"tomorrow it can protect them from various evils",
\nthe coach tells me as if she's reading my thoughts.
\n"You can, you know, bring the child for 10 minutes
\ntrial without writing it down. From its first
\nreaction we will be able to understand if he will like it
\nthe swimming pool".<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We will start a swimming pool because...<\/p>\n
Through playing with water, children learn to
\nfloat and take first steps in technique for
\nswimming.
\nSwimming is the best exercise for little ones
\nchildren who are not allowed to do other types
\ngymnastics.
\nTheir physical fitness and respiratory function are strengthened.
\nability, heart function, posture improves and
\nthe position of the body.
\nPsychologically it also helps children overcome their
\ntheir fears and gain courage and self-confidence and
\nthey become more autonomous.
\nChildren who exercise get sick less and are less likely to
\nthey easily catch childhood diseases<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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