Paula Brown

I learnt to swim from an early age and swam for my school, also while travelling around the world I would always find a pool to go for a swim in. I can never remember not swimming.

I have been teaching Swimming for 15 years now, I love the fact you can give somebody a skill that will stay with them for the rest of their life, or as long as they wish to use it.

Here at the Park Club I teach the Parent and Baby classes from the age of 3 months to 5 years. There is something very magical about swimming with your baby. I find you develop a real bond and closeness of trust between the two of you. Your child will move through the water with such easy and be so relaxed it is wonderful to experience. This experience will stay with both of you for the rest of your life.

I work with mother and baby, using the babies natural dive reflex together with the word command “Name Ready Swim,” I then lead to gentle under water swims, by the end of a 12 week course your baby will be happily swimming a short distance under water.

As your child grows in age and strength I then develop other swimming skills such as, kicking, arm pulls, holding on to the side, turning around, falling into the water, bubbles and longer free swims. This starts to develop from around age 1. From age 2 the children really become more independent and real strokes can start to develop as well as floating work, jumping in turn around and swim to the swim, sitting dives longer free swims and much more.

I find an individual approach to each child works very well, as some children take to swimming like “a duck to water” and will give anything a go, others need to be reassured and take things at a slower pace, they will grow to trust their adult and teacher and move forward to love their swimming again forming a very special bond.

The benefits of swimming from such an early age are general good health, building up physical co-ordination and being able to reach milestones earlier, a positive bond between parent and baby. For a lot of children it helps improve eating habits and sleeping patterns, which helps the whole family.

Please come and find me in the pool, to watch a class and see what we do, or have a chat, I am here Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, I look forward to seeing you soon.