Swing

The boy loves to swing. "Higher...higher than the moon!" he declares as we push him. The moment he notices he is not going as high as he would like, "Push me!" he persistently commands. I oblige and continue to push, but on the forefront of my mind is the thought that he needs to learn how to swing himself. Soon!

I was a late bloomer in terms of swinging. I remember Eva and Iris swinging away as I sat looking on in disbelief. For the life of me, I couldn't figure it out. I don't remember how old I was when I finally was able to do it all by myself, but it was a relief. Ari seems to be going down the same path of swinging ineptitude that I did.

I have tried to teach him to swing; my mom has even tried. We have showed him how to move his body in order to make the swing go back in forth. We have pushed him slightly to get him started and so he could do the rest of the swinging on his own. So far, I don't think he really quite understands the concept, or he doesn't have the coordination.

I think the next step will be to try to teach him how to swing by having him watch me swing. I'll have him watch me closely as I demonstrate how my body makes the swing move. Every time we go out to the swing I should have him watch me for a few minutes before he gets on. The only issue is that we will have to go to the swings at the park, since I am too big for our backyard swing set.

Being able to swing yourself has everything to do with coordination, which kids normally don’t obtain until they are well into their toddler years. It takes time to learn how use your arms, chest and legs to make the swing move. I can see how the coordination of moving both the upper body and the legs together, but separately, is tough. We aren't making learning a very big deal, and we know that he will eventually learn on his own time and when he feels comfortable. I honestly think he'll have more fun when he is able to do it himself.