The baby and the little boy in the water. Application of the principles of Emmi Pikler in aquatic pedagogy for early childhood

Abstract

Introduction: 7 years ago we acquired knowledge of the broadest research to date on natural motor development based on pure free movement in babies and infants between 3 months old and 3 years of age, carried out by the Loczy Institute in Budapest (Hungary). Since then, we were inspired to reformulate traditional early age swimming practices. We did so by generating pedagogical resources that avoid provoking, when in water, postures that they haven’t already developed on land by themselves, replacing adult-conducted immersions in any of the learning stages.

Objetives: We verified that this new pedagogical proposal does not delay the achievement of early age feasible aquatic independence, especially when it comes to the coordination of balance, breathing and propellant motion skills. The unfolding of the infant’s initiative is the basis for a significate and delightful motor learning process.

Method: The adult support and proposals follow the postures achieved by the babies autonomously, without overtaking or force in the water postures or speeds that the baby does not achieve by itself on land. We replace the dives made by adults for playful proposals based on the initiative of the baby or child and imitation in freedom of movement in swimming pools. We create and maintain stable conditions of support through teacher training and information to parents. We have a five-year observation period in regular swimming classes with infants and children aged 4 months to 3 years (+/- 6 months) with one of their parents in the water. In this period the average attendance was 80 monthly dyads, with a majority frequency of a weekly class stimulus.

Results: The most outstanding result of the experience is the unnecessary immersion of the babies for the stimulation of the breathing pause in immersion and the aquatic independence, an emblematic practice of the activity. Without this practice, all infants and children observed spontaneous use of the breathing pause in immersion since they performed it, and all managed to organize their breathing autonomously, both in surface and immersion, without having been submerged by adults.

Conclusions: This investigation we aim to take care of early age emotional wellbeing, which fundamentally determines the constitution of the psychic experience of the budding adult that lives, as and explorer, in each child.

Keywords: Balance, breathing, tone, emotion, development, initiative, autonomy and stimulation.