10 Reasons to Give the Gift of Swim Lessons This Season

While gift giving can be stressful this time of year, there are ways to think creatively to ensure gifts are fun for kids while also being easy to give! The gift of swim lessons is one that your kids can experience and enjoy through the holiday season and beyond, and one that will give them skills to be safer and stronger swimmers for life. Here are 10 reasons to give your kids the gift of swim lessons at Big Blue Swim School this holiday season.

1. Swim lessons are a safe and comfortable year-round activity for kids and families alike: As the weather gets colder, kids need indoor activities to keep them busy and active throughout the winter months. Big Blue's warm and spacious indoor facility is a safe and comfortable space for kids to be active year-round, with 90-degree, ultra-clean pool water, an HVAC system that brings fresh air from outside to the pool deck every 10 minutes for our swimmers, and a spacious viewing area for parents to relax or get work done.

2. Swimming keeps kids physically active and healthy: Swimming is one of the safest and best cardiovascular activities for kids. It's a low impact activity that promotes long-term heart and lung health. Kids build muscular strength and endurance with continuous weekly swim lessons.

3. Swimming promotes brain development: Swimming supports social, emotional, cognitive, language, and fine motor skill development, according to a study by the Griffith Institute for Educational Research. It helps with the mind / body connection as it requires an immense amount of focus and physical coordination. Additionally, when kids swim, their brains release endorphins, which helps boost their moods. Finally, swimming gives kids a place to develop relationships and social skills as they listen, learn and play in the water with others.

4. Learning to swim gives kids confidence as they learn new skills: At Big Blue, we celebrate every accomplishment kids achieve in the water, whether a new skill or overcoming a fear. We call these Big Moments, because we know they will last a lifetime. We provide kids with a safe place to feel confident, secure, and proud of themselves with every bit of progress they make in the water.

5. Swimming helps kids build resilience as they work to overcome fears and challenges: Every day at Big Blue, our Swim Associates help kids learn new swimming skills and are right by their sides as they reach new milestones. But every swimmer has to overcome an obstacle or two before achieving those Big Moments. Swim lessons build confidence and teach kids resilience by challenging them to push beyond their limits, to try and try again, and to trust their own abilities.

6. Preparing for safe summer swimming happens in the winter: As a parent, you may already know these staggering statistics: drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1-4 and the second-leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of 14 in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control. The good news is we know that swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%! In order to be ready for safe summer swimming, kids need to start learning to swim in the winter months. This gives them time to get comfortable in the water, learn new skills, and build endurance needed to be strong swimmers.

7. Swimming is beneficial to other activities: There are so many benefits of swimming, including cross-training for other kids activities. Swimming pairs well with many other sports and activities because it builds aerobic endurance and muscular strength, is a low-impact activity that can actually help when injuries are present, and requires a lot of mental strength, which helps kids clear their heads and focus on what's in front of them.

8. Swim lessons give kids a routine and something to look forward to each week: It is so important for kids to have a routine, particularly when so much of the world around them is changing. The consistency of weekly swim lessons with our friendly staff in our warm and welcoming environment is both an activity and a destination that kids can look forward to each week.

9. Increases confidence

Confidence is a characteristic that can help kids in school, sports and throughout life. Swimming helps children gain 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.

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.

10. Our schedule is open and ready for your family! New customers can visit our website to register for weekly swim lessons or a free trial lesson (at select pools only). Splash into the holiday season with a gift that keeps on giving.