Today I went swimming

I don't often go to the pools; I don't like the smell of chlorine, but all this week I have taken my daughter to the pools and watched as she aqua-jogged length after length.  She really seemed to work hard, so today I said I'd brave the water and come in with her.  She was delighted, of course.  She showed me how to put on a body-belt to help flotation, and off she set with me trailing behind. 

She cheerfully announced that we'd do 30 lengths. I quailed at the thought, but had to appear staunch.  She reached the first length and turned to ask how I was doing.  "Ok", I said, "how about you?"  "Oh," she said, "I'm just fine."  After 10 lengths, she was still in the lead.  After 20 lengths, she announced that we could quite possibly reach our goal and do 10 more, "that'd take us up to 40, then we could try 50". 

What had I done to deserve such a hard taskmaster?  She raced me to each end loudly announcing to all and sundry that I was "close to useless".  On and on we went, alternately jogging with feet on the bottom of the pool and then 'cycling', she called it, when it got deep.  I thought it was more like upright dog-paddling.   I was completely out of my depth, metaphorically and physically; there was my daughter, yes, the one with PWS, beating me hollow, with a cheeky grin on her face, laughing as she reached the wall before I did. 

Now, quite apart from burning 915 calories for herself, she also won, big time.  Two other women, also water-jogging, shared her amusement, and I smiled as she hauled herself out of the water ahead of me.  I was the one left in the slow lane this time. 

Here's another plus:  she's been in a good mood since!

A great little book by Kirsty Reid and Peter SW Davies of the CHildren's Nutrition Research Centre at the University of Queensland, called "Exercise and Phyiscal Activity for Children with PWS" is available from our IPWSO office (cost is postage only).  It talks about activities that will help lose weight, how to maintain interest in exercise and to encourage exercise with pre-schoolers, tye types of games, dancing and music-based activites that can be used effectively and there's a wonderful chart which states the calories lost for each exercise, according to the weight of the person and the time done exercising. 

Take time to check this out.  Contact me if you would like a copy:  secretary@ipwso.org

Linda