I had twins that were 6 at the time and 3 other boys up to age 11. We had a pool so they all knew how to swim. But, I decided to take them to the beach to face their fears because it too scared the hell out of them.
I did it every weekend for a month or so. It got so we were the only ones in the water at times and guess what we were playing? Yep, fin out of the water (HANDS) making that DUH DUN sound and having a blast.
Youth....can't beat it!!!
I eventually reached that point LOL...