“I know how important swimming lessons are for water safety and such a life skill for our children, but sometimes if they aren’t loving it, it’s a hard sell to get them to the pool,” writes “Mummy” columnist KATE MEIKLE.  

“SWIMMING is my least favourite children’s activity to take my three kids to,” shared a fellow mum in a low voice, who was sitting next to me at my children’s swimming class. 

I couldn’t agree more with her, when she outlined her reasons. It’s an uncomfortably hot and noisy indoor-pool environment. You feel rushed, sweaty and never quite on top of how best to get the kids out of the pool and into the car with all their wet gear and dripping hair. 

Everything from the chlorine smell to the damp bench seats makes me cringe with sensory overload. 

I know how important swimming lessons are for water safety and such a life skill for our children, but sometimes if they aren’t loving it, it’s a hard sell to get them to the pool. 

I was surprised to learn about a house with a pool, on the market in Weston Creek, that my friend was interested in buying, that it was being sold without a legal pool fence around it. 

I couldn’t quite believe that a house in 2020 could be sold without the requirement of bringing the pool fencing up to regulation and, while my friend was budgeting for installing one should she have been successful, it makes me wonder how many home pools don’t have the right fencing and shudder at impacts that would have on small kids in our community, should they visit or live in a home without a decent fence.  

After a lull in loving my kids’ swimming lessons I decided to give the weekly lessons a temporary skip at the beginning of this year, but the covid closures and a cautious winter made sure it was a lot longer stretch out of the water than I had wanted for the kids. 

Coupled with travel restrictions and work commitments, we haven’t been out of the ACT since January, and certainly haven’t seen the sea, that is until the recent long weekend, when we finally went to the coast. 

It really was a treat to get to the beach and feel the sand between our toes. Since we moved to Canberra from Sydney two years ago, my kids have been fascinated by “the coast” – that catch-all local phrase that Canberrans use whenever they talk about going anywhere that has a shoreline. They couldn’t wait to get to the illusive “coast”.   

Living in a landlocked city, it’s interesting to identify the water babies amongst us who long for a refreshing dip in saltwater and to clear their heads, gazing at the horizon. They say that going regularly to the beach is so important for their mental health and I reckon about half of my friends are in this camp.  

Our trip to the coast came with some surprise as to how our cautious master six-year old’s swimming skills had regressed. This is the boy who was confidently swimming laps last year, now clinging to us in the water. We tried not to react, but it worried me that he could “forget” how to swim.  

I suppose a nine-month swimming hiatus is a long time for a kid. 

So back we go, signed on with a new swimming centre and, after one lesson, our boy is back doing his laps with confidence. 

Our “boss baby” daughter has now become a “water baby”, who has a big smile on her face, kicking her pointed toes like the little ballerina she is, in the water.  

Somehow dealing with the dripping kids and soggy towels and the repacking of the massive swimming bag each week doesn’t seem too much of a chore now I really know its importance.