Action Girl Amanda

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Emma Brophy talks to the Pied Piper of west London

Having a conversation with Amanda Frolich is like being on an all singing all dancing rollercoaster. After an hour her enthusiasm for working with babies, toddlers and young children became so infectious she almost made me want to have another child – I stress the almost!

I, along with thousands of other parents, have experienced the delight of watching Amanda sing, dance and play with children and she really is a joy to behold.

A real Pied Piper, Amanda has an amazing ability to entice even shyest of children to run around whooping with delight and deliver a rendition of Incy Wincy Spider anyone would be proud of, I know this because she did it with one of mine many moons ago.

Having worked in childhood physical development and activities for the past 15 years, Amanda saw a rising number children in the care of nannies and other carers attending her classes. The classes are popular with the children, but these memorable experiences of physical activities are often missed by parents due to the pressures of work.

With financial pressures of maintaining a standard of living, it is often necessary for both sets of parents to work during the week, that’s why Amanda has set about creating a series of events held during the weekend that are all inclusive of all the entertainment and treats to make them affordable and accessible for all families. It's a chance for families to discover physical activities together in a fun filled atmosphere.

“I want to help educate parents to have fun and be active with their children from a young age so that they can hopefully become our sports stars of the future.” says Amanda.

Mother to 3½ Bibi, it’s clear to see how Amanda interacts and engages children and their parents so effortlessly “Children dance best when adults dance with them,” she tells me, “I want people to wake up dancing with their children, to get them moving music, be energised.”

Amanda’s background is in sport and leisure. She was a sports coach and fitness instructor for London Borough of Ealing when she went on a course to learn how to run music and movement classes and loved it. She started her own class in Priory Community Centre and the world of Amanda Action Kids was born.

She currently runs 25 classes a week in hired halls and cafés across west London within west and south west London and has a team to help with the parties that dominate the toddler social scene. She trained lunch time supervisors from 60 schools across the borough of Ealing to implement Action Kids in the lunch break and after school and was employed by Liverpool City Council to come and run a family fun day at one of the city’s Children Centres.

Add to the mix a successful CDs and activity videos, whatever could be next for Amanda? “I have a vision of Amanda’s Fun Bus traveling up and down the country encouraging children everywhere to get active. I’d love to be able to visit children’s hospitals, I can see myself prancing around the wards bringing smiles to little faces.”

By this point in the conversation I’m exhausted listening to Amanda’s cornucopia of projects and plans, but it’s impossible not to be seduced by her enthusiasm backed up by a good dose of common sense such as extolling the benefits of families spending time together.

“I just want to make a difference,” says Amanda. It’s impossible to imagine how she could not.

Emma Brophy

July 7, 2008