Swimming is good for children in so many ways but some of them may surprise you.
Let’s start with the serious stuff.
Safety
Drowning is still one of the most common causes of accidental death in children. Living so close to the coast, not a summer goes by when we do not hear of a tragedy in our seas, rivers, lakes, or reservoirs. Being able to swim is an essential life skill and could one day save a life.
Confidence can sometimes be mistaken for competence. We follow the Swim England Learn to swim stage 1-7 framework which once completed give the children the confidence to swim and the competence to swim all 4 strokes up to 100m & skills required for personal survival to give them the best chance if they found themselves in difficulty.
https://www.swimming.org/learntoswim/water-safety-code/
Fun and Friendships
Swimming and aquatic activities are lots of fun for people of all ages. From splash parks and water parks to pool and open water swimming. We also see friendships develop in the pool and the viewing area that extend into play dates and lunches. We often see swim families hiring the pool together for fun sessions during the holidays.
https://swim2swim.com/private-hire
Physical and Developmental
Swimming is great for improving flexibility and posture through moving deliberately and repetitively whilst buoyant. All muscle groups are strengthened leading to better balance and coordination. Swimming is a low impact sport; children have less chance of injuring joints and bones whilst swimming and can generally exercise for longer than other high impact sports.
Swimming improves lung capacity and helps keep the heart healthy. As the heart rate climbs during swimming you breathe harder, over time the lungs develop to meet these demands increasing lung capacity and heart strength.
Swimming can aid digestion and improve sleep. The digestive system needs to move for it to function normally. Swimming offers the movement to help work food through. You may have noticed how effective this is after your lessons!! Swimming is a full body workout requiring lots of energy. Children who exert lots of energy during the day generally require more sleep to re-charge for the next one.
Our baby and pre-school lessons are planned and structured to support developmental milestones, our teachers are fully qualified and trained in delivering these lessons. Swimming lessons help the children develop confidence and belief in their abilities as they achieve more and more in their lessons. They trust their teachers and communicate with them and their swimming friends. Nothing beats watching a child blossom from a nervous swimmer into a confident swimmer demonstrating strokes to their friends.
Mental
Exercise is proven to have a positive impact on children’s mental health. Studies have shown that it not only lowers levels of stress and anxiety as well as higher levels of positive self-image and wellbeing. Swimming helps to boost endorphins leading to increased feelings of happiness and other feel-good emotions.
Social
Swimming lessons are a great way of developing children’s social interactions and skills. They often involve being part of a group of children who have never met and of possibly different ages. The lessons are run by engaging, friendly teachers and often involve an element of play / fun activity. The children see each other week after week, developing bonds and friendships.
Other sports
Once a child can swim a whole new range of sports and activities open up to them including Water Polo, Synchronised Swimming, kayaking, scuba diving, surfing, sailing and triathlon
Did you know? – You need to be able to swim to be an astronaut!