Meet Maria Di Fiore Solanki, whose love for water and kids made her start Water Town Swim – baby and toddler swim and water development classes in Delhi as well USA.
Tell us something about yourself.
I have done BA and Masters in psychology with a focus on child development. I am certified swimming coach and been teaching swimming for over fifteen years. I married a guy from Delhi, the best guy ever! we have one daughter, Vivienne who is 3 years old. We live in the USA.
What motivated you to start Water Town Swim School?
This is something I wanted to start for years. I just love being in water. I feel so free. I also love working with kids. Putting both together and it was my dream job. But what I wanted to do was to create a business that would generate profit that could be put back into the community. I volunteered for years to help the NGOs raise money and was left selling candles and cards. I wanted to make a lot of money for charities to grow and so I decided to start Water Town Swim. My hope is that it grows and spreads across Delhi, India, Asia and beyond. We would be donating 100% of all profits.
Were there any challenges you faced while establishing it?
Of course! first, the concept being new, there are many questions that parents ask. Its difficult to find a good team here, many of the questions either go unanswered or have to wait until I have the time to answer them. I know my classes are the highest quality and this is just the beginning, so problems are bound to happen and we have to learn to cope with them and make Water Town Swim work.
What is the right age for kids to start swimming and how important it is for their development and health?
See even this question is a question that comes from a country that has not experienced such classes before. What I would like to answer is “what is the correct age to expose a child to water and swim safety classes ? I can’t tell you how many times parents ask me in how many lessons will their child learn swimming and they have a six month old! We do not expect a child to learn our native language in six months, in fact, by age 3, after being exposed daily to our native language they are just starting to speak in sentences, and they will continue to learn all the way through high school if not life. Now for some reason we have this misconception here in India that they will learn in just a few classes and that the goal is to get from point a to b. This cheats both the parent and child. Children begin absorbing information the moment they enter the class. A child’s brain develops over 85% by the time they are 3 Water classes aid in this brain stimulation. We want to get as many neuron connections as possible and grow that brain for later output. Studies show that children who are in early swim lessons statistically have higher IQs than children who are not enrolled in early swim lessons. There are cognitive and motor skill benefits along with social and emotional as well. Yes, children will learn to swim eventually, but are we considering a doggie paddle or a front stroke with mistakes or a perfect butterfly? One problem I noticed is that most of my parents in Delhi do not know swimming so it is difficult for them to grasp how their child is progressing. But I would just highlight the fact that at this age, we are moving through progressions and one major progression is to be comfortable in the water. You can’t ever learn swimming if you are scared. These early swim classes help to eliminate the fear while also work on other techniques that will later turn into swim strokes and will help with the child’s development.
Being a working woman, how do you manage your business, family and kids?
Well this is a challenge. It is even harder for me because I absolutely love my work and I am on the verge of being a workaholic. Last week we went to Disney world which is about 80min from my house. On the way I was emailing and sending whatsapp messages, even as we waited in the queue, I was doing the same. Sometimes I go overboard. I try to wakeup early or go to bed late at times to manage everything. Now I come to India only for seven weeks. I just had to make the decision to do less or it would be an issue on my other favorite job, being a mom. I made this decision after speaking to my cousin who shared her feelings growing up with my aunt working so much. I knew if there was one thing I would regret in life, it would not be that my business wasn’t the most successful, but it would be that I failed as a mom by not spending enough time with my daughter. It’s a hard balance. My husband is great at taking life casually and helps me to remember to stop and smell the roses!