5 reasons why all children must learn to swim

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Jumping into a swimming pool with your child can be a somewhat daunting task but it is important that you give your child the chance to learn to swim as its benefits are many and varied.

Here are top 5 reasons why you must allow your child to jump in that pool!

 

1. It’s essential to safety.

According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages one through 14. It is absolutely crucial that all kids know how to swim at a young age.

There is water all around us, even if it’s as small as a bathtub. Making sure that your child is comfortable in and around water is essential to their safety.

 

2. It’s a low-impact sport.

Swimming is obviously low-impact, as it’s performed in water. According to Bucknell University, the body is 90 percent buoyant when in the water up to your neck, so you’re not hitting the ground with the weight you carry on land. Swimming is the ideal sport for the well being of one’s body in the long run.

Swimming keeps your child’s heart and lungs healthy, improves strength and flexibility, increases stamina and even improves balance and posture.

3. Health and early development 

Swimming involves moving multiple muscle groups in a high-intensity, cardio workout. All four strokes involve working different muscle groups. Often times, children and adults take up swimming for weight loss. It burns calories quickly, and is easier for overweight people to pick up because it’s low-impact. According to Bucknell, swimming offers 12 to 14 percent more resistance training than life on land- offering an exceptionally challenging workout.

Aside from weight loss, introducing your child to swimming early on will promote a healthy life. Once he or she learns to swim, they may hop in a pool at any point in their life to get a low-risk, high-intensity workout.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, swimming can help with chronic diseases and mental health. Water-based exercising like swimming improves the use of joints affected by arthritis.

 

4. Enhances social and personal skills

Swimming will expose your child to have plenty of opportunities to make friends and grow in confidence. From shared experience, swimmers learn to support their teammates, which creates a positive atmosphere. This is a skill that can be carried throug life into the workplace and beyond.

Participating in swim lessons at a young age can prevent or overcome fear of the water. The first developmental component of swimming is comfort. Classes focus on instilling comfort and confidence in swimmers. An instructor will focus on small successes like proper body position and breath control to make the water a place of fun and enjoyment.

5. Smart kids

Swimming makes children smarter. Haven’t you heard? Swimming is the new brain food. A study from the Griffith Institute of Educational Research in Australia found children who learned to swim at a young age have more advanced physical and cognitive abilities.

Research revealed 3-to 5-year-olds who took swimming lessons scored higher in mathematics, reading, oral expression, story recall, visual motor skills (cutting paper and drawing shapes and lines), and understanding directions.

In some instances, children who participated in swim lessons were 20 months ahead of those who had not participated in swim lessons.