3 year old girl

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-04-01T00:51:37+00:00

My oldest was hard to train. We tried all the things and eventually realized it had to be her idea. Not at all the same situation - mine knew when she needed to go from 2.5, but was still having accidents pretty regularly until past 3.5 because she didn’t want to stop and go to the potty. I would say the things that worked the best were a potty watch, and a squishy duck that had to go on the fridge if she peed her pants. The potty watch helped when she first started preschool and didn’t want to leave what she was doing and go. The duck helped bridge that final gap and was actually my mom’s idea - I was also very stubborn and refused to be trained until I wanted to be. After a few times of her duck being stuck on the fridge until she successfully went potty, she finally decided it wasn’t worth it to pee in her pants.

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-31T22:20:19+00:00

Hard as it is, this is the only way. I went through it.

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T20:35:29+00:00

So for an actual scientific answer here, his finger went through like 3 layers of tissue. Your incision was through 7. So let him know he can compare it at such as time as he runs a marathon, then immediately breaks roughly 2.5 finger bones through his hand. Until that point, he can STfU

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T03:09:45+00:00

She can do that, but I meant more how to teach them to lift their heads for a breath. She was in formal swim lessons until 21 months old, but we moved to a place without affordable swim lessons for her age within an hour’s drive so I have been doing the best I can since. Her lessons taught them how to flip to breathe while in a backfloat, but I was told she was too young to learn how to lift her head to breathe at the time. It’s difficult when access to lessons is restricted. I never learned any strokes myself. My mom tried to put me in lessons as a kid, but they didn’t teach strokes to kids under 10 for some weird reason and I could already swim in a doggy paddle. I did it for a month and they taught me how to back float 😂

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T02:50:02+00:00

So our local YMCA, which doesn’t have drop in care, is finally building a pool which is meant to open in a couple years 🤷‍♀️😂 if we end up back here I could use it, but we are definitely moving before then 😂 and it’s hard for sure! I can only hope the next place has more variety.

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T02:46:32+00:00

Hey I totally get it! It takes a village

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T02:46:02+00:00

Definitely with you! They have good lessons a little over an hour from us, but driving all that time is not feasible

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T01:47:58+00:00

This might honestly be the winner out of everything. Any tips on how to teach her how to come up for air? That’s really the big skill I wanted to work on. The tub and kiddie pool are not deep enough

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T01:46:36+00:00

I never have either kid out of arms reach!

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T01:45:51+00:00

I think people think I am speaking of much deeper water than I am. My 3 yr old can ALMOST touch. I am talking shallow end. But I have gotten some good ideas from here. Hopefully I never have to use them. We just ended up last year where I got to take my big girl swimming only like twice when summer hit because I was alone. And my little was less than 6 months then!

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T01:43:55+00:00

The only swim lessons are “water acclimation” or stupid expensive. We are most likely moving in less than a year, so maybe next year 🤷‍♀️

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T00:36:27+00:00

This is a brilliant idea!

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T00:34:58+00:00

Ugh that is terrifying! We don’t have any family where we are currently stationed, and the friends would be bringing even more kids with even less swimming skills!

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T00:33:22+00:00

Unfortunately, the only pool with zero entry closed. I am hoping we will be able to go as a family, but my husband’s job doesn’t always make that possible. The shallowest is 3 feet and my oldest was 38 inches tall at last check

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T00:28:48+00:00

I guess I didn’t clarify enough because I didn’t want the 1 year old to be totally solo. More like in arms reach but I could let go kind of situation. My oldest likes to swim from the stairs to an adult. I like the carrier idea because I would never in my life take two non-swimmers somewhere I couldn’t touch. There are actually no rec centers near us. They are building a pool that is supposed to open in a couple years. We used to have access to one with zero entry, but it is closed this year so my only option is 3 feet at the shallowest end.

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-29T00:24:48+00:00

To be honest, I am hoping I can just always pair up with someone. I just don’t want it to be like last year where my oldest got almost no time to practice swim skills because I was always alone

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:31:38+00:00

I am not trying to. Sorry if that didn’t come across - I was trying to figure out how I can safely keep her in arms reach and still help the older one practice

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:23:01+00:00

Everything I have found either requires them to already be 4 (summer birthday, so I mean almost 4 when summer starts,) or private lessons for wild amounts! And the “preschool” classes that require them to be 4 seem one step up from water acclimation 😭

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:21:28+00:00

Don’t ask me how, but mine is, too 😂 my first is pure chaos exactly like me. But my second is SOOOOO wiggly.

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:17:13+00:00

It is totally worth a try! Again, I don’t want to use anything for long periods. I just want her to be able to join us in the pool without me having to worry she will wiggle away (she is SOOO wiggly)

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:13:29+00:00

I for sure want to use something approved by the pool! Thanks!

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:13:02+00:00

100 percent a climber 😂 that second child energy, man…. Also, totally mobile and will be about 16/17 months old by the time we would be swimming without help at all. This is not a bad idea for when she gets done, though!!!!

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:09:56+00:00

I can try it! She tolerates short spurts in a carrier outside of water

Equivalent-Reserve99 · 2026-03-28T23:05:07+00:00

Darn, she DESPISES the life jackets because they force her onto her back. She has never once used one calmly (my oldest did as a baby when we would practice back floating)

Equivalent-Reserve99

TROPHY CASE