If you know the benefits of year-round swimming for kids, you’ll want to make swimming a part of their activities every week, all year long!
We love our kids and want to keep them healthy and safe always. We watch their diets and make sure they get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation to further fuel their growing minds and bodies. So why restrict swim lessons to summer only?
Reasons to Get Your Child Swim Lessons
There are many ways your child benefits from swimming. And these benefits range from exercise to socialization skills to much more!
If swimming has been part of your child’s weekly activity, why unnecessarily interrupt this routine, just because the weather has turned cold?
When a kid has year-round swim lessons, they advance easier and become stronger swimmers faster. If a child only takes swim lessons in the warmer seasons, they can forget motor skills they’ve just begun to master. They can feel frustrated if they need extra time to catch up to where they were several months back.
Let’s take a close look at the benefits of year-round swimming for your child. Afterwards, you may never think about swimming the same way again—it’s so much more than just splashing around!
Improved Water Safety Skills
When a child has swimming skills, they are safer around water. Year-round lessons will further develop these skills so kids will know what to do in the event of a water emergency.
According to the CDC, childhood drowning is not limited to just warmer seasons— children face water hazards every day. Maybe they’re not near a swimming pool, but they play in parks with lakes and streams. And even at home, young children are often near toilets, bathtubs, buckets of water, sinks, and other potential drowning hazards.
The sad fact is that a child can drown in as little as two inches of water in twenty seconds.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that swim lessons are beneficial for children starting around age 1 and may lower drowning rates.
Year-round swim lessons will teach your child to have a healthy respect for the water and help them develop important safety boundaries. Clearly, there’s no substitute for parents being vigilant when their child is around water, but Njswim teaches children and parents how to stay safer around water.
Swimming Boosts the Immune System
Active kids benefit from stronger immune systems. When a child swims indoors during the cold winter months, they’re actually helping themselves stay healthy!
In winter, many kids can’t play outdoor sports. Year-round exercise is important to older kids, young children and even babies. Children can become restless and even bored if they can’t be active outside.
Read more about how swimming improves a child’s health.
Swimming in winter won’t make your child sick. Simply be sure that your child is well dried off and in dry clothing before you leave the pool building.
At Njswim, we offer comfortable changing facilities where kids and parents can get dry and change. And our pools all have comfortable warm water year-round.
Here’s more about winter swim lessons.
Swimming Is Great Exercise
Swimming offers so many great health benefits for the body, it’s difficult to focus on just one. Why limit this impressive muscle-building activity to just warmer seasons?
Swimming helps all the major muscle groups, including those in the:
- Arms and legs
- Back
- Core
And since swimming is low impact, and puts very little stress on joints, it’s much less likely to cause any injury. If your child is prone to injuries, swimming is a great choice, rather than a high-impact sport such as track or soccer.
Swimming provides a complete cardiovascular workout that improves a kid’s:
- Strength
- Endurance
- Coordination
- Flexibility
- Overall fitness
Swimming also helps children sleep better. They wake in the morning better able to face their day at school.
Swimming Contributes to Good Mental Health and Development
Swimming is as good for mental health as it is for physical development.
Swimming decreases depression and anxiety. It is a calming activity that reduces stress. It promotes the growth of new brains cells and releases endorphins in the brain for a sense of well-being.
Swimming also reduces cortisol, a stress hormone, and promotes improved cognitive function.
Many children find it soothing to be in the water—especially when the water temperature is warm and inviting.
Swimming also increases a child’s pride and confidence as they master new swim skills.
Swimming Encourages Socialization Skills
Kids enjoy swim lessons when their teacher is supportive and helpful. At Njswim, our swim teachers know how to help a child feel comfortable while learning and socializing with others.
As children grow, they may want to join a school swim team, which offers further opportunities to bond with team members and coaches over their enjoyment of swimming.
The enhanced socialization skills that young swimmers develop will serve them well as they go through their school years and throughout their entire lifetime.
Swimming Benefits Children with ADHD
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on the percentages of children with ADHD diagnoses. Data from 2016 to 2019 showed these results for children with ADHD:
- 2% of all 3-5 year olds
- 10% of all 6-11 year olds
- 13% of all 12-17 year olds
Experts recommend swimming for children with ADHD; it helps them overcome problems they have with mastering gross motor skills and body coordination. Swimming improves core strength and improves coordination of legs and arms.
Here’s information about when your child should start swim lessons.
Contact us at Njswim for information about our year-round swim lessons for kids—including our Water Babies program!
