Swim team

Swim Team isn't going so well.

Don't get me wrong, Parker is still a damn good swimmer. Better than many older than he.

But the general experience of swim team is not working for him or me. For one, he doesn't really pay attention to the coach so he doesn't know what the drill is. He either does it wrong or waits and watches other kids to know what to do. He is intimidated by the bigger kids, never wants to go first, and gets really, really cold. He's not cold in the water, but when he gets out, he's an ice cube. He's too cold to get dressed by himself, so I help him like he was a 2 year old holding up a towel. I recently told him that we weren't going to be able to do that because 7 year olds need to be able to take showers and get dressed on their own in the boys locker room (he's too old to come with me in the girls). He didn't like that at all.

And it's very frustrating for me to sit there and watch him. The coach will tell them to take off their flippers and grab a kick board and Parker will just float there, staring blankly off into space while all the other kids do what they were asked. Then Parker realizes something happened and follows along. It's maddening to watch and it happens 10 times a practice.

I've emailed the coach to get her opinion, but I'm thinking we stop and maybe take it back up when he is older, saying 8 or 9. That will free up his afternoons for playdates or other activities and little league which starts in February.