Learning how to swim is the most popular recreational activity for children; it provides a lifesaving set of skills and is surprisingly beneficial for their mental and physical development. If your toddler is ready, classes that include parents and their children are an excellent way to introduce good water safety habits and build swim readiness skills. At the age of 4, most children are ready for swim lessons; they usually can learn basic water survival skills such as floating, treading water and getting to an exit point.
3 Benefits of learning to swim
1. Teaches water safety
Teaching your child how to swim is one of the most important parental responsibilities, just as important as teaching your child to look both ways before crossing the street. According to some research, drowning remains the top cause of injury-related death among children aged 1-4 years and the second leading cause of death for kids between 5-14 years; swimming lessons have been proven to reduce the drowning risk by nearly 88%!
Drowning is quick, silent, and much more common than most families realise; swim lessons are just one of several essential layers of protection to help prevent drowning. Another layer includes constant, focused supervision when your child is in or near a pool or any body of water.
2. Physical health and mental health
Swimming can be a fun way to keep your kids active and healthy all year long; swimming is an excellent exercise for the whole body. It is cardio and strength training; kids will stay active, avoid obesity, and develop a healthy relationship with their body; it also improves strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and more! Swimming is a low-impact sport, which means children have a much lower chance of injuring joints or bones than when playing other sports. Exercise also helps strengthen the part of the brain that is associated with memory and learning. So, as your kids master the backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and butterfly, think about all the good it’s doing, not just for their bodies but also for their minds.
3. Develop confidence
It has been proven that swimming relieves stress, anxiety and depression and gives kids the confidence they need to face unknown situations. One of the best ways to help a child build confidence is to allow them to be independent; swimming is a skill that largely relies on a child’s independence in order for the child to be successful. Children learn to trust their instincts when they’re allowed to be independent, which in turn increases their confidence. When learning to swim for the first time, many children appear afraid of water. However, when they overcome these fears, they benefit from developing confidence and self-esteem. They also develop a positive attitude towards physical activity.
Conclusion
Compared to adults, children have an easier time learning how to swim. Knowing your child is comfortable in the water and swimming successfully is rewarding. Before you sign up for swim lessons, you should do some research to find out more about swim coaches near you. You may want to learn about the instructor’s background, teaching style, cost, and facility features, including pool size or temperature.
Looking for the best swim coach in London for your child?
Our goal at Trainify is to build confident swimmers; that is why our experienced and hand-selected swim trainers are the perfect way to polish those skills.
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