LEARNING PLATEAUS... Have you ever wondered why your toddler suddenly starts regressing, becoming uncooperative during classes & resistant to joining in with activities they have always loved? Your toddler has most likely reached a learning plateau– a saturation in the learning process which causes a pause in their progression. This is a natural part of life regardless when it occurs, in or out of water. WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? For a variety of reasons including psychological, physical & neurological factors, developmental stages & EXTERNAL factors. After lots of rapid learning children need to pause & take time to assimilate the information & make sense of all they have learnt. Plateaus normally occur when your child has been doing an activity for a long time OR is introduced to a new activity or learning experience. Once the new skill has been mastered successfully progression will continue normally. Each child is different and their progression is based on their own biological clock, NOT their age. However, the first general time it can occur is between 11-15 months. Toddlers can experience several plateaus in their early years (2-4 years). WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP? • Speak positively to your child at ALL times & give them lots of encouragement • Take time to talk to your instructor & explain to your toddler what is going on in the class & allow them to watch others do the activities • Keep your child close to you & do the activity with them • Stop submersions if your child is protesting at them • Concentrate on what they can do and reinforce their achievements • Encourage them to take an active part in the lessons by helping give out toys, collect woggles etc. • Take them swimming outside of Water Babies where they can practice skills, play & become independent • Most importantly KEEP GOING! Taking your child out of lessons will deny them the opportunity to reinforce skills they have already learnt. Remember this is just a phase & your child will come through it! After all we don’t learn in straight lines so a child may go forwards, then back a little, then forward again!
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:00:00 +0000
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