Last night, Meredith King joined me as a guest on Navigating Neva, and this episode was special to me. I’ve been meeting with Wes for a long time, and I’ve had the chance to meet Meredith in person, but having her as a guest on my podcast felt really exciting. More importantly, Meredith is a gem. We are very similar in the way we approach swim lessons — thoughtful, intentional, and focused on meeting swimmers where they are. I loved getting to hear more of her story, her business journey, and how she teaches. If you work in aquatics, teach swim lessons, or just love hearing from people who care deeply about this work, you should listen to this episode. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2nVijg7qlGk11r7a6K8IqT?si=O1iOddZgT7ezoitZaUsV4A

Last night on my podcast, Wes and I had Megan Owens as a guest, she is a consultant and she shared with us some cool stories she consults in recreation- check it out: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0neYKKTYlaa7z0sLHMXCDC?si=vvyyjYgXQbWAEFkfX5j3rg

I wanted to share this conversation because Selena Willows brings something very specific to the table: she has built a proven 100-minute swim program, and her way of explaining child learning, confidence, and swim progress is worth listening to. From my point of view, this episode matters because we did not just talk about skills. We talked about what happens underneath the skill. We covered: - why children need ownership: “I did that.” - the difference between competence and confidence - why a child can physically swim but still panic - how to decide when to proceed, pivot, or pause - crying, discomfort, trauma, and nervous system regulation - why fear is communication, not manipulation - how parent anxiety and past water experiences affect learning - why swim curriculum needs to be examined through child development, emotional readiness, and modern learning science My biggest takeaway: A child does not just need to perform the skill. They need to believe the skill belongs to them. That is where confidence transfers beyond the lesson — into a different pool, with a different adult, in a real-life moment.https://youtu.be/gi3PL3Xn78k?si=Ru2-bpiRBU6i8Bfh

I am a WSI IT, and I become a WSI in 2005. I took my WSI class in 2000 and my instructor failed me... I was a YMCA of the USA Parent Child and Preschool instructor and Child and Adult instructor. Then I took World Wide Swim School. The ARC curriculum has gone through many revisions: - 1960s–1980s: expansion of structured swim levels and preschool programming - 1990s–2000s: modernization of skill sequencing and instructor materials - 2009 major WSI revision - 2014 swimming/water safety revision with adult swim outlines and updated learning tools. Infant Swimming Research Timeline Modern infant and developmental aquatics research largely accelerated in the: 1960s–1970s This is when: - infant swimming programs expanded internationally - developmental motor learning research grew - aquatic adaptation studies increased - early child movement science became more formalized During the 1970s and onward: - Australia became a major leader in infant aquatics - European developmental aquatics programs expanded - parent-child aquatics models increased - research on stress responses and attachment began influencing early childhood education However: - neuroscience was still primitive compared to today - polyvagal theory was not introduced until the 1990s - trauma-informed pedagogy became mainstream mostly in the 2000s–2020s Modern trauma-aware swim educators—including approaches like my Joyful Waters work—are part of a newer movement attempting to integrate: - emotional regulation - consent - pacing - developmental readiness - sensory processing - attachment-informed teaching - nervous system safety This is why I am seeking help with pre- and post-program data collection. I believe there is a major gap in traditional swim instruction. Most programs measure skill completion, but they do not consistently measure emotional regulation, consent, pacing, developmental readiness, sensory processing, attachment-informed teaching, or nervous system safety.

In tonight's episode of Navigating Neva, Selena discussed how swim skills can become unintentionally gatekept when “prerequisites” turn into rigid myths. A thoughtful episode for swim instructors, aquatic professionals, parents, and anyone ready to rethink how we teach swimming with more awareness, flexibility, and respect for the individual swimmer. https://youtu.be/yKyiUuh3hk8