Creative Ways To Stop A Child from Crying

Tonight after work I went to the gym to swim some laps and to wash away all the work worries. Two kids were having swimming lessons in the last two lanes.  One was a boy. His little head was no match for his swim goggles.  The goggles were so big five inches of goggle strap stuck out from the sides of his head like the barbels on a bullhead fish. He was smiling with his instructor and I heard him ask who I was when I walked by. The other swimming student was a girl who also wore goggles and pig tails and a two piece swimsuit with a red skirt. She was screaming bloody murder.  "I don't want to do this!" she said. A woman sitting right there in a chair appeared to be grading papers.  I heard her tell the girl she was going to do this.  I assumed she was the mother of twin swimming students. The girl continued to scream at the top of her lungs as I put on my cap and goggles.  I watched the instructor take the girl by the hands and dip her head under the water. Silence from the girl. As soon as she was lifted above water the screaming commenced.  Again the girl was dipped under the chlorinated water. Silence. Up she comes and she takes in a breath before screaming again. Down she goes.  Silence.  I think to myself, as I start my laps, this is a very creative way to stop a kid from crying.  I swim for about 15 minutes. As I leave the pool the girl is still crying and her brother is still smiling. The girl cries softer though.  Her little lungs are getting quite the workout today.