Top 10 Benefits Of Swimming Lessons For Kids
Learning to swim can open a world of opportunity for your little one. Skills learned during swim lessons can benefit your child for the rest of their life! These lessons can also be lifesaving, as kids who take formal swim lessons have an 88% less chance of drowning. Children are more likely to establish a healthy relationship with exercise and fitness, too.
Safety is a parent’s top priority, but children who learn to swim at a young age enjoy many other benefits, including superior mental and physical health. The following are 10 benefits of swimming for children!
1. Safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022) states that drowning is the number one cause of injury-related death among kids ages 1 to 4. It is the second leading cause of death for older kids ages 5 to 14 as well. The importance of learning to swim is evident.
Our expert swim instructors at Big Blue Swim School teach countless water safety skills your kids need to remain safe in and around water. Kids can learn lifesaving swimming abilities as young as three months, which is when your swimmers can begin taking lessons at Big Blue!
2. Superior Muscle Development
Swimming requires whole-body strength and helps kids to safely develop muscle. Swimming is a low-impact sport, which means they have a much lower chance of injuring joints or bones than when playing other sports. Additionally, people can exercise longer in the water than on land without muscle or joint pain.
3. A Healthier Heart
Swimming promotes superior cardiovascular health. It strengthens the heart, making it more efficient in supplying blood throughout the body. Studies also show that swimming several times per week can improve blood vessel function and lower blood pressure.
Superior cardiovascular health and stronger muscles are two health benefits of swimming for kids that result in superior stamina. This endurance can carry over into other sports and activities your child enjoys.
4. A Lifelong Love of Exercise
One of the most significant benefits of swimming for kids is that they learn to associate exercise with fun at a young age. A positive relationship with exercise can stay with your little ones throughout life.
5. Better Sleep
Many parents struggle to get their children to wind down at bedtime. Swimming is a full-body workout that requires a significant amount of energy. This level of exertion can result in improved sleep, and who doesn't love that??
6. Superior Mental Health
One of the most powerful benefits of swim lessons is that they can help the mind relax. Being in the water is naturally calming, while the exercise of swimming releases feel-good chemicals in the brain, known as endorphins. Exercise also reduces the stress hormone called cortisol, which can be incredibly beneficial when it comes to improved mental health.
7. Increased Confidence
Confidence is a characteristic that can help kids in school, sports, and throughout life. Swimming grants children confidence because they can see and feel themselves advancing in the sport. Kids may begin swim lessons feeling nervous about the experience, but they quickly learn to kick and stroke.
Similarly, swimming challenges kids and helps them overcome their fears. It teaches them that they can set goals and achieve them through hard work and discipline.
8. Better Cognitive Function
You might not enroll your little ones in swimming lessons to impact their academics, but there can be a natural side effect! Kids, who learn to swim early in life, tend to have superior visual-motor skills. Studies also indicate young swimmers are up to 20 months ahead of non-swimming peers in the skills of following instructions and problem-solving.
In fact, kids who began swimming early in life, achieved mental and physical milestones earlier than their peers. Infants, who took swim lessons, showed superior motor skills. Ultimately, the skills taught during swim lessons through verbally-led exercises, activities, and games can lead to better performance in the classroom.
9. Improved Coordination and Balance
The physical benefits of swimming lessons for kids are abundant. Swimming helps improve strength and flexibility, which results in superior balance and coordination. These are physical skills that can keep your little one safe outside of the water, too, and improve her or his ability to perform in other sports.
10. Superior Social Skills
Social skills, including 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 opportunity 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 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, which can help them learn how to be confident and kind around all walks of life.
Our professional swim instructors are eager to teach your children in our welcoming, stress-free environment. View our current locations to see if there’s a Big Blue Swim School near you. We can't wait for your child to experience all the benefits of swim lessons with us!
