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Baby swimming
In 1982, I pioneered teaching methods promoting play-based activities, songs and rhymes in baby and toddler aquatics. Since 1988, as a member of the Baby swimming committee for the Norwegian Lifesaving society (NLS), I have worked to instigate changes in the national teaching program toward child-initiated activity focusing the child as a subject not an object. As the 2014 recipient of the Virginia Hunt Newman Award for Baby swimming, my efforts to promote a “Gentle Approach” to baby swimming, have been internationally recognized.
I have presented internationally on four continents over the past 35 years on Baby and toddler swimming, the most recent at the World Drowning Prevention Conference in Perth, December 2023. My motto is “Let the Baby Show the Way”.
Swimming and lifesaving career
An active swimmer and lifesaver as a teenager, I went on to be an instructor and have been involved in life saving education, water safety, prenatal swimming, and baby swimming from 1976 to the present day. I have been a volunteer with NLS for over 35 years, starting three lifesaving clubs for children and teenagers. I have worked to develop lifesaving sport as leader for the Sports committee for NLS (1990 – 2002) and as trainer at club level and national coach. I have served on the ILSE Rescue commision and am an ILSE risk assessment tutor.
I am currently on the ILS and the ILSE Drowning Prevention Commission.
As an advocate for water safety and the drowning prevention perspective in beginner swimming I have presented at national and international conferences. The most recent intervention was at the World Drowning Prevention Conference in Perth, December 2023.
Parallel to teaching baby swimming, I have been a head teacher and manager in several kindergartens in Norway for over 15 years, where, of course, swimming was on the curriculum.
In my work as Education director for the NLS head office I have developed educational programs for teachers in baby swimming, water safety and lifesaving in accordance with relevant research. I have also had responsibility for counseling instructors, schoolteachers, and others with responsibility for water-based activities in open water.
I have produced three books on swimming and water safety education for NLS teachers, the last one is focused on aquatic activities for babies and toddlers. I am currently working on a book in English directed at parents of babies and toddlers who wish to engage in aquatic activities with their baby