Beach baby

Jack has had an aversion/phobia to the beach the past several months. We had gone one time in February (gotta love San Diego), and he got knocked down by a few tiny waves. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but apparently he found the experience extremely scarring and traumatic. Every time we would even go near a beach afterward, he'd say, "No beach! No waves!"

Tom and I both LOVE the beach, so to have a child who doesn't is simply unacceptable. Ever since the weather has gotten warm, I've tried to bring Jack to the beach about once a week. He frequently protests. Sometimes he has fun once we're there, even going so far as to run into the ocean himself. But it's very tenuous. All it takes is one little slip in the water, and he's back to being scared.

We went to our regular spot in Coronado last week. As always, it took Jack some time to warm to it. But he saw his friends splashing in the water, and he ended up going in too. At one point, he was having so much fun, he yelled, "The beach isn't scary anymore!"

I probably should have quit while I was ahead, but we stayed a bit longer. At one point, he did end up getting wetter than he expected. After we got packed up and he was back in his car seat, I asked him, "Was that fun?"

"Yep," he said.

"Is the beach still scary?"

"A little bit," he said (pronounced "A yiddle bit").

"Will you want to go back?" I asked.

"Yep."

I'll take it.