Bindy Cummings
”GymbaROO – Simply the best decision I ever made for my child.”
GymbaROO has been providing quality neuro-developmental programs for babies and children from birth to five years and their parents for over forty years. Now a Franchise operation, GymbaROO centres can be found throughout Australia and in an increasing number of countries overseas.
GymbaROO’s ever growing developmental philosophy and rationale is today backed by the work of many experts who have determined the important role that milestone progression and early movement experiences play in development, as well as our own thirty-plus years of experience of working with babies and children.
GymbaROO stands out as being the ONLY parent-child program in the world that specialises in research-based, scientifically rational, neuro-developmental, fun learning environments for babies to school aged children and their parents. It is also the only program in the world that has integrated key developmental activities, essential for complete development in each age and stage of development, into a comprehensive and all-encompassing program.
Every song sung, every game played and every activity at GymbaROO is specifically designed to increase a child’s capability to learn.
Everything we do at GymbaROO is about ensuring that each child has the opportunity to lay down the crucial foundations for later learning and fostering the normal sequence of development appropriate to each child’s stage of development.
GymbaROO – Why it works
GymbaROO has a tried and tested model that both parents and children enjoy. Over the years, many thousands of parents have witnessed its great value in assisting their children’s development and readiness for school. GymbaROO is the perfect combination of research based, neuro-developmentally appropriate activities, of parent education and of fun!
The latest neuro-developmental research
Neuro-scientific studies now confirm that the experiences a child has in the earliest years of life are absolutely critical for brain development and for laying down the foundations for all future learning. It is during this time that much of the essential wiring linked to learning is laid down. 1
How well children behave, read and learn at school is directly related to the kinds of stimulation they experienced in the years before school. As a result, these formative years shape a child’s future health, happiness, development, learning ability and achievement at school.
Research into brain development clearly shows that in the early years, brain connectivity occurs as a result of movement experiences. 2 For optimal neurological organisation, these movement experiences need to be those that the brain has evolutionarily developed to expect. Introducing the correct movement experiences into babies and young children’s daily lives from the earliest months will have a profound influence on brain growth and intelligence.3, 4
Studies are now revealing the link between motor development and cognitive skills and confirming that children who have excellent motor skill development are more likely to achieve success at school – not just academically, but socially, emotionally and physically as well.
Babies and children who have the right early movement experiences are found to have improved coordination, concentration, memory, perception and improved confidence, communication and socialisation skills.
Research is also revealing that our modern lifestyle, with its tendency towards inactivity and reduced movement experiences is interfering significantly with the natural, expected, physiological stimuli required for optimal brain development and this is dramatically affecting how ready young brains are for learning. Understanding how lifestyle changes impact the foundations for learning, and applying a solution is the way forward.
GymbaROO – Empowering parents and carers
Assisting parents to understand the importance of early childhood development is the key to helping children develop into successful learners and competent adults.
What babies and children really need are parents, carers and teachers who understand neuro-development and act on this knowledge.
At GymbaROO we understand the important role that parents play in their child’s early development and we pride ourselves on empowering parents with the latest developmental knowledge to ensure they understand why and how they can assist their children in developing essential skills for future learning. At GymbaROO, parents learn how to help their children maximise learning potential through fun, developmentally appropriate activities.
Throughout each class our tertiary qualified, neuro-educationally trained teachers share information, helping parents understand their child’s development and why each activity helps to build key brain pathways essential for healthy neurological development. Parents also receive take-home information sheets and activity suggestions designed to further consolidate their understanding of key developmental stages and to provide them with more daily activities to do at home with their child to promote neurological excellence in these crucial early years.
Through GymbaROO’s outreach programs and our sensorimotor programs, available for child care centres, kindergartens, preschools and primary schools, we aim to share this expertise with each child’s future carers and teachers as well.
GymbaROO – So much fun!
GymbaROO classes are renowned for being such great fun! Babies love them, children love them, and parents love them. Every activity at GymbaROO is based on fun and learning together. Games, music, songs, dancing, climbing, hanging, swinging, jumping and tumbling all form part of the program in which parents enjoy actively engaging with their babies and children. Babies and young children thrive on activities that are developmentally beneficial and parents thrive when their children thrive. It’s a win–win!
The proof is in the pudding, GymbaROO kids are excelling.
More and more evidence is being documented confirming the long-term benefits of GymbaROO. As GymbaROO has been a part of many Australian families’ lives for over three decades, there are now hundreds of success stories of GymbaROO kids who have developed into extremely well rounded, happy, confident and flourishing individuals. These children, some of whom are now adults, began GymbaROO as tiny babies and continued with the program until school age. Their parents also reinforced our program at home. So many have achieved academic excellence, have enjoyed an exciting variety of leadership roles and have gone on to reach elite levels in their chosen sports.
School teachers are describing those children who have been through GymbaROO as having higher levels of concentration, better behavioir, confidence and communication skills and being generally more socially mature and physically capable than their peers.
GymbaROO makes a huge difference to how well children do in life. The following articles, will reinforce just how much of an outstanding difference attending GymbaROO over a period of five years can make to your child’s future academically, on the sporting field, and in life in general.
GymbaROO and you, making the world brighter one child at a time.
References
- Pecuch A, Gieysztor E, Wolańska E, Telenga M, Paprocka-Borowicz M. Primitive reflex activity in relation to motor skills in healthy preschool children. Brain Sciences (2076-3425). 2021;11(8):967.
- Stephens-Sarlós E, Stephens P, Szabo A. The efficacy of the sensorimotor training program on sensorimotor development, auditory and visual skills of schoolchildren aged 5–8 years. Child & Youth Care Forum. 2024.
- Stevens-Smith DA. Active Bodies/Active Brains: The Relationship between Physical Engagement and Children’s Brain Development. Physical Educator. 2016;73(4).
- Misuraca R, Miceli S, Teuscher U. Three effective ways to nurture our brain: Physical activity, healthy nutrition, and music: A review. European Psychologist. 2017;22(2):101–20.