Importance of Learning to Swim

Getting into the water and learning about safety and swimming, is a gift for your children which may help improve:

• Health and fitness
• Cognitive processes
• Social interactions
• Safety in the water

Learning to swim for health and fitness

Swimming is an excellent activity for overall health and wellbeing.
Not only is it a low impact sport, meaning that joints are not put under stress from impact, it also provides a full body workout. Because almost all of the major muscle groups are utilised in swimming, particularly if all swimming strokes are mastered, your child’s whole body is working to pull itself through the water as they swim. This promotes:

• Toning and strengthening more evenly than many other sports
• Greater endurance, as your kids can swim for longer without fatigue
• Cardiovascular health if a good pace is maintained
• Improved metabolism through activity

Swimming allows a child’s body to move in ways it can not move on land. For this reason it is a particularly good activity for those with disabilities, low muscle tone or rehabilitation patients. Swimming allows for both gentle or more physical exercise, to improve the muscular and cardiovascular systems, and promote better co-ordination and fine-tune motor skills.
As well as physical fitness, swimming has been said to increase mental wellbeing.
Swimming to keep cool on a hot day provides both a cooling of the body and a relaxation of the mind. This reduction of stress is an excellent way to improve your child’s mood. Studies have also shown that the mere feeling of buoyancy that water provides improves everyone’s general frame of mind.
On a more scientific level, the physical activity of swimming stimulates chemicals in the brain, affects neurotransmitters such as serotonin, and releases stress-reducing hormones and endorphins. That’s why the majority of people hop out of the pool feeling healthier and happier than when they got in.

Swimming can increase cognitive abilities

When kids first enter the pool and start lessons, they are taught about the rules and the consequences of breaking them. They are also shown how to follow instructions, as they learn how to kick, paddle, and breathe out under the water.
This kind of constructive discipline from an early age encourages willpower and concentration – skills that develop with age and can be applied in so many areas of a child’s (and an adult’s) life.
As your child progresses with their swimming they will also build confidence as they learn about the rewards of learning and practicing skills. This simple connection is the one of the foundations of education.

Social development and swimming

In group swimming lessons, kids have the opportunity to interact with other children and with their instructor.
Learning to take turns, share equipment and attention, and respect the different personalities in the group is a great way for children to socialise. As they learn, they are also chatting amongst themselves and forming friendships.
It has also been observed that early participation in instructional activities such as swimming lessons help children to adjust to the school environment. They are confident in group situations, have learned to be respectful of other people’s needs, and can take instructions from adults in positions of authority.
Swimming also forms the basis for many social activities.
Activities such as going to the beach to swim and surf, or being in a boat or small watercraft requires swimming and water safety skills. Even being near to the water calls for an awareness of water safety. Without this, your children may feel restricted in social situations.
Aside from purely social leisure activities, most schools have swimming carnivals of some kind and giving your child confidence in the water from an early age will ensure that these are fun times.
And don’t forget, swimming with your kids is a great experience. Once your child is a confident swimmer, you will be able to enjoy recreational swimming with them as well as some quality time in the water together.

Swimming for safety

Perhaps the most important reason that your child should learn to swim is for safety.
Royal Life Saving Society – Australia 2012 National Drowning Report has shown that drowning rates have reduced in the last year. Alarmingly, 284 people still drowned in Australia last year, and 12% of those fatalities were children under the age of 15.
Reducing the incidence of drowning relies significantly on water safety education.
The following steps save lives. Make sure your children:

• Understand water conditions, including visibility, depth, weather, and appropriate times for swimming
• Are aware of their limits, such as their swimming ability in terms of endurance and fitness
• Learn to swim as early as possible, including water safety techniques such as floating, sculling or treading water
• Are able to respond to dangers in the water including warning others and attracting the attention of a nearby adult

These measures are not designed to create fear in kids. Having an understanding and awareness of danger serves to foster a healthy respect for the water, and allows your kids to enjoy swimming to the full.
Learning to swim from an early age will start a love affair with swimming for your kids. The sooner they start, the better! Becoming familiar with water safety as kids will help ensure water confidence, a strong swimming style, and more time to enjoy it.