Taking The Plunge—readers' Digest Online, As ...

Taking the Plunge—Readers’ Digest Online, As Kids See It, Stephen McCormack, St. Joachim, ON, 1997

"To my five-year-old son, Alex, jumping off the diving board that first time seemed an insurmountable challenge. He was too timid to manage it that day. On the drive home I tried to bolster his courage with a personal confession.’When I was a little boy,’ I began, ’there was a huge slide in the park beside my house. The first time I tried it, I was so scared that my father had to rescue me from the top. But the next time, I slid down, and each time after that, I had more and more fun. Do you know what I’m saying?’ Alex nodded with enthusiasm. At his next lesson, Alex approached the board with a new confidence. He strode purposefully to the end, then stopped. He tried again, and again pulled up short. Finally he turned and made a beeline for where I was standing. ’Dad,’ he asked urgently, ’do you know any other stories that might work?’"