Swimming is an important life skill that all children should learn early on. There are so many benefits in learning to swim, and your child will get pleasure from the ability throughout childhood and into adulthood. Not only is it great for their health, but it could one day save their life too. Whilst taking your child to the swimming pool yourself and encouraging them to learn, there are some things they will only learn in swimming classes, where they are taught to swim long distances, different strokes and even lifesaving skills.
Health and Fitness
We all know the health benefits of exercise on the body. Swimming is one of the absolute best forms of exercise as it works every muscle group in the body without putting stress on bones and joints. For children it is a brilliant way to burn off pent up energy, and the swimming pool is a safe environment as they are supervised by trained lifeguards. Instilling the importance of leading an active and healthy lifestyle in children is important as it will stay with them for life.
Social Skills
Swimming classes are held in groups of children of a similar age and ability. Your child will be able to mix with children outside of school and learn valuable social skills. They will make friends and have fun in a different environment to the class room.
Safety
Learning to swim is hugely important to ensure your child is safe around water. There are lots of situations when your child might come into contact with water throughout their lives, and unless they learn to swim they will be in danger in these situations. Whilst you might be able to teach them the basics of swimming yourself, class lessons help to build up strength and endurance, teach your child to swim long distances, swim underwater and also build lifesaving skills like swimming whilst wearing clothing, swimming underwater and rescuing others.
Life skill
Swimming is an important life skill that will bring a lifetime of pleasurable experiences. Think what they might be missing out on in later life if they do not learn. Boat trips, beach or resort holidays, pool parties, water sports, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, the list goes on. All of these experiences require the ability to swim, and as your child gets older they could find themselves excluded from such activities if they cannot swim.
Competitiveness
Swimming classes instil a competitive streak in children as they strive to achieve more and compete amongst their peers. This is an important character trait that will help them in various environments in school and even later in life at work.
Author bio: Tamara Frank is a mother of two and a family blogger. Her son and daughter both took swimming lessons with http://www.puddleducks.com.
See Also:
- Water Safety: The Ultimate Life Skill By James Ball, BCBA-D
- Water Safety Skills ~ A Parent’s Responsibility
- Michael Phelps, Most Decorated Athlete in Olympic History, Beat ADHD Too!
11 Comments
Such an important skill to teach all children and from an early age, in my opinion. Great advice thanks Tamara. Julia 🙂
Thanks Julia, Pleased that you visited our blog and enjoyed our post on swimming lessons.
I really like the idea of having swimming lessons serve a dual purpose of fitness and safety. I think the article makes a great point about how your child will probably come in contact with water throughout their lives. This makes it that much more important for a child to develop skills to help them in situations where they might be in danger. When my wife and I have kids, we’ll definitely be looking into enrolling them in swimming lessons. What is a good age to have them start?
Hello John, Thanks for reading our Special Needs Blog post on water safety skills. What is a good age for kids to take part in swimming lessons? Some kids learn to swim before learning to walk. I suppose it all depends on the child and the parents. Also it depends on the facilities (pool, lake, etc.) that are available and on the cost involved. Swimming is an important life skill and some children can learn to swim through school programs. Lorna
Great post Tamara Frank and thanks for including the health and fitness benefits of swimming for kids. We should enroll our kids into some best swimming classes to give them better fitness and increase their immune system.
Thanks, Seema, for taking the time to write a comment. Hope you find other interesting posts. Lorna
Swimming is indeed an important skill and it should be a part of a child’s daily activity.
Tamara Frank, swimming is one of the best exercises that the body can ever have. It helps the body to relax to. The images you have shared and the facts you have mentioned are truly helpful. Thank you for sharing this post elaborating the facts and including images. Good job!
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