SUMMER is just around the corner, but it’s never too early to get in the pool!
Swimming lessons are available at pools all year round, for people of all ages, and Paul Sadler, founder of Paul Sadler Swimland (PSS) encourages parents to start their kids young.
“A child’s development during infancy is crucial for parents and teachers as it’s the time for setting foundations. At Swimland, we support this by teaching children swim survival skills which also reflect the areas of hand-eye co-ordination, colour recognition, letters, shape recognition, and language skills.”
Mr Sadler, an industry leader in swim survival education, said he was not surprised that a Griffith University Early Childhood Swimming Research Report found that infants from four months old who participate in swimming lessons were likely to achieve more physical, cognitive and language milestones earlier than non-swimmers under the age of five.
Swimland’s new program is based on similar sentiment.
The report also stated that accidental drowning was the leading cause of death for children under five, and it provided an important insight for the Australian swim industry – in particular when setting skill standards for young age groups.
Mr Sadler said Swimland’s program called ‘The Journey’ re-inforced the swim school’s approach to early childhood swimming.
By encouraging parents to actively celebrate their child’s achievements in the pool, the program highlights where recognition for hard work and motivation is due.
Children begin their journey in the Swordy Tot program which introduces the little ones, aged four months to three years, to all the exciting adventures they can experience in the water.
The classes are full of fun activities that focus on water awareness, mobility, safety and survival. The children have so much fun, they won’t even notice that they are tackling new and challenging things every lesson.
Parents or carers get to be in the water with their little one enjoying the bonding experience together and sharing some special one-on-one time.
Parents get to take home some tips on things they can do at home to help their child’s development and how to extend their learning from land into water through the use of colours, shapes, sounds and touch.
“Research shows that children who participate in water activities from a very young age benefit in many ways, and we like to think we are helping to make our swimmers smarter and more confident in all aspects of their lives,” Mr Sadler said.
All swimmers in the Swordy Tot program take home an interactive development chart to celebrate small successes with stickers as they gain new skills along the way.
Paul Sadler Swimland is having a free swimming lesson day on 1 October and would love for parents to come along and experience the fun and learning first hand. To book, please can call (03) 8790 5540.
For more information on the programs please visit www.paulsadlerswimland.com or find them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/swimlandaus
