Okay, dear reader(s), I have a question for you: How do you teach someone how to swing?
Seriously! This is driving me nuts.
Okay, not swing like Java programming, and not the Jazz scene, and not the grown-up version of swinging. I’m talking sitting on a swing and moving oneself.
Oh, sure, I have kids who can swing very well. They’ve somehow overcome my attempts to actually teach them and figured it out on their own. But my little girl? Is especially stubborn. (anyone just tuning in, I’ve also had a few foster kids over the years, so I’ve probably managed to get ten kids or more swinging at one time or another. No, not on the same swingset).
The problem seems to be in the leg movements. If I say “kick your legs” I’ll get one of a dozen different motions, none of which help the actual swingishness. If I say “stick your legs out” that gets a different (yet still somehow not quite right) response.
So is there a magic thing? I say “look at your brother.” Doesn’t help.
Gah!
It’s not that I don’t want to spend time at the swingset with my dear daughter, it’s that she weighs 40 something pounds and pushing her for up to an hour (yes) can make my shoulders hurt. So I’m trying to empower her to do it on her own.
Any ideas?
I took a three step approach with my daughter.
Step One, sit her on the swing, put her legs out and show her “Kick”, and then move her legs to opposite position and show her “Back” so she knows what you mean when you say each one.
Step two, push her on the swing, but only for as long as she listens. If she starts not listening, stop pushing, and say something along the lines of “we will work on it another day when you WANT to do this” this will usually get her to “try” at least to do it right.
Step three, give no more than a one or two push “start” and tell her she has to do the rest. She will never do it on her own unless she has to.
That’s what worked for me anyway.
Um, convince her to play on the slide instead?
no help here — The Dread Pirate DinoBoy had the same issue — it blew my mind that there are people in this world who didn’t automatically understand the concept. You just… swing… simple.
That is hilarious…. I was just trying to explain it to my son….
“Ya know…. like, kick… no NOW… no.. NOW…. wait… NOW”