Why Young Children Should Learn to Swim
Learnings from Participation in Early Years Swimming
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:19th Nov '26
£171.99
This title is due to be published on 19th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This groundbreaking text presents findings from the first comprehensive international study examining developmental benefits of swimming lessons for children under five.
Robyn Jorgensen’s research reveals that quality swimming programs benefit young children's development across multiple areas, demonstrating early aquatic education’s impact on development beyond traditional water safety and swimming instruction. Using Bourdieu's framework of capital and drawing on the Australian context as a case study, the author documents remarkable gains across cognitive, linguistic, social and physical development, with participating children achieving developmental milestones up to 18 months ahead of international benchmarks. The research measures these significant outcomes while also examining the critical environmental factors that produce such results, including specific teaching practices, program quality indicators, and swim school characteristics that distinguish effective early aquatic education from basic swimming instruction. As well as demonstrating where gains occur, the book explores why quality swimming environments enable young children to flourish across developmental domains.
A must-read for swimming industry professionals seeking evidence-based insights for their program development, this important book will also interest early childhood educators, policymakers addressing pre-school educational gaps, and researchers across education, sport and child development.
Professor Robyn Jorgensen is a highly respected Australian academic whose international longitudinal study on infant aquatics has provided rigorous evidence that "swimming lessons build young children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual capital." This book is for anyone who has an interest in preschool children's growth and development.
Parents, educators, swimming instructors, administrators in the aquatic industry – this book is for you! I'm very grateful that Robyn has been able to prove everything I believed about infant aquatics. Swimming is fun, healthy, educational, and saves lives.
Buy it! Read it!
Dr. Laurie Lawrence AO, International swimming Hall of Fame Coach, International swimming Hall of Fame Infant Aquatics recognition, Olympic Gold Medal Coach
This is far more than a book about early years swimming. It is a landmark contribution that combines scientific research with an unprecedented analysis of the factors that define high-quality swim schools and help explain the remarkable outcomes observed in young children. Dr. Robyn Jorgensen presents evidence that challenges long-held assumptions while offering valuable insights for the future of aquatic education. This book will undoubtedly become an essential reference for researchers, educators, swim school owners, and organizations committed to advancing quality and excellence in aquatic education worldwide. Throughout my conversations with Robyn, I have been impressed by her commitment to building a stronger scientific foundation for aquatic education. I am confident this book will help shape the future of aquatic education around the world and will become an important milestone for our field.
Rafaele Madormo, Founder and Executive Director INATI, Instituto de Natação Infantil, Brazil
An indispensable publication for all aquatic professionals; bringing to light the groundbreaking Early Years Swimming research essential for a world-class developmentally based aquatics education.
Ross Gage, Aussie Aquatics; Past CEO, Australian Swim Teachers and Coaches Association, Swim Australia and Australian Swim Schools Association; US Swim Schools Hall of Fame
I’m so pleased to see this level of global academic research in our industry. The book beautifully traces early years swimming to modern neuroscience, showcasing impactful research that proves swimming benefits children in far more ways than we originally thought. I love how it captures the bigger picture while tackling real local infrastructure and equity challenges. It’s an essential read for swim educators everywhere.
Miren Oca, Founder and CEO, Ocaquatics Swim School, USA
Robyn has done an exceptional job of showing the development of the methodology and philosophies found in teaching young children to acquire swimming and water competency skills. It is a very interesting and well-researched comparison of different programs from around the world, throughout the past several decades. Whether you are an established swim program, looking to develop a program, or just interested in how very young children can and do learn to become safer in the water, this is a great read.
Johnny Johnson, Owner of Blue Buoy Family Swim School in Tustin, California, USA where he has been teaching since 1967. He is a past president of the I.S. Swim School Association and also a past president of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.
ISBN: 9781041304708
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
178 pages