A Back-To-School Boost: The Mental Benefits Of Swimming For Kids

Swimming is a vital, life-saving skill that is often learned at a young age. This is because drowning is a top cause of death among kids. However, did you know that swimming is a great activity for your kid’s development? Aside from teaching water safety and being a good form of exercise, swimming offers many school-related and mental benefits. For example, this sport can enhance cognition and social skills.

Read on to learn how children can gain social development skills from swimming.

Developing Social Skills in Early Childhood

Social skills for infants are essential to help children develop body language, communicate and form positive relationships. They play a key part in helping children learn how to act in social situations and make new friends.

Here are some ways little ones can enhance their social skills by swimming:

Interacting with other swimmers: Kids can gain social development skills, friendship skills and team-building skills by swimming with other children. This can help them feel part of a like-minded group where they can form relationships built on trust and safety.

Learning about teamwork: Some games and social skills activities for preschoolers require children to work together to reach a common goal, enabling them to learn the importance of teamwork. Sharing and taking turns as well as communicating achievements also help kids learn sportsmanship, patience, fair play and self-discipline.

Welcoming differences: During swimming class, children are likely to interact with other swimmers from various cultural backgrounds. This can help kids learn how to be confident around all walks of life.

How Swimming Supports Classroom-Style Learning

A swimming pool offers a safe, nurturing environment for kids. Exercises, activities and games are often guided by verbal instruction, much like in a traditional classroom setting. This familiar atmosphere can help make children feel comfortable.

How Swimming Affects the Human Body

Swimming helps keep a child’s heart and lungs healthy since it works the entire body. Moreover, it enhances balance and posture, improves strength and boosts stamina. Other health benefits include releasing endorphins, improving sleep patterns and enhancing appetite and coordination.

How does this activity affect the brain? Regular swimming engages the left and right hemispheres of the brain and all four lobes simultaneously. This boosts cognition and increases ease of learning. Swimming also promotes new neurons in the hippocampus, enhancing memory, learning and other brain functions. For example, mental benefits of swimming include improving mood, lowering depression, and boosting self-esteem.

A Deep Dive Into the Mental Benefits of Swimming

An international study by Griffith University tells us just how beneficial swimming can be for children. It found that kids who swim have better memory, literacy, motor, math and other sensory and cognitive skills than kids who don’t swim in early childhood. The four-year study surveyed parents of 7,000 children who were five years old and under from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. An additional 176 children were involved in a more rigorous assessment.

The findings revealed that the kids who swam were about 10 months ahead in their cognition development and 15 months ahead in their social and emotional development. This divulges that swimming can truly enhance children’s well-being.

Enroll Your Child Today!

Big Blue Swim School provides swimming lessons for children who are three months to 12 years old. Our professional instructors, advanced technology and effective curriculum ensure your kids have a fun, engaging and safe swimming experience. Best of all, we offer ultimate flexibility with scheduling.

To learn more about how swimming improves heart health for your kids or to find a program that’s right for your child, reach out to us today.