Swimming is a fun activity that can come in handy as well as an important life skill. It has a lot of benefits for kids as well as being a great outdoor sport. Continue reading to know the benefits of swimming for kids.
Benefits Of Swimming For Kids
During the summer, swimming is also the only sport that could save the life of your child. In addition, During the summer, swimming is also the only sport that could save the life of your child:
1. Improve Emotional Well-Being
Swimming is also beneficial for the mental and emotional health of your child Water’s natural buoyancy has been found to alleviate stress and enhance the mood of a person. If done on a regular basis, it can help fight depression.
2. Teaches Teamwork
It even fosters team spirit without sacrificing on individuality in addition to helping your child make new friends. Playing together and competing in a sporty way teaches valuable life lessons to a child.
3. Good for your physical health
It’s a great way to get kids to do some physical exercise in an era of electronic gadgets. Playing in the water always appeals to children, and swimming combines fun and learning. It also improves cardiac and respiratory health, in addition to increasing stamina and improving balance and posture.
4. Essential for Safety
Drowning is known to be the second common cause of death in children under 14 years of age. It is essential to know how to stay safe if you accidentally fall into the water. Since swimming is a skill that stays with your child for a lifetime, it is definitely a worthy pursuit.
5. Better Co-ordination
There has to be a lot of synchronized movement of arms, legs, and the whole body, not to mention the pattern of breathing. Mastering this will also give your child a boost in self-confidence.
Cons of Swimming for Kids
You get to learn about the positives of swimming most of the time and it’s easy to believe that there are no drawbacks to this practice. Nevertheless, every coin has two sides. There are some things you need to look out for when preparing your child to learn to swim.
- Summers are perfect for swimming, but if you live in a region where the weather is mostly cold, the cold water in the pool will lead to your child’s cold and cough. Heated pools may be a remedy, but they are not easily accessible.
- Chemicals used to clean the pool, such as chlorine, produce toxic gases that can lead to asthma in some once breathed in.
- A swimming pool is also a source of contagious diseases as it is possible to find a large number of children in one at a time.
Precautions To Take
You can never have too many precautions, or safety measures in place as far as children are concerned. And there is no exception of swimming. When swimming, make sure your child is:
- Never go into the water on its own. There is always a need for supervision of adults.
- Has worn the right swimming gear type. A few examples are swimwear, goggles, earplugs.
- Knows that swimming in a swimming pool is very different from swimming in an ocean or river. The river bed is not going to be flat and smooth like the pool, posing the danger of jutting sharp rocks.
- Always adheres to the guidelines.
How To Select Swimming Classes?
When selecting a swimming class for your child it is important to be careful. If an instructor can’t establish a relationship with your child and can’t earn his trust, the road ahead is going to be extremely hard. Bear in mind the following in your child’s quest for swimming class:
- Make sure the classes are conducted in line with your child’s learning skills. If not, your child will end up learning nothing useful.
- Check to see if they allow a parent to be in the pool during the class if you have a young child with a fear of water.
- Know how often the pool is washed and what chemicals are used to disinfect it.
- Find out the experience and qualifications of all your child’s instructors
- Choose a class with a small number of kids, because only then will your child receive the instructor’s individual attention.
- See whether you can sit in a few tutor classes first or have a few trial classes to see how the instructor conducts the sessions
It is quite clear that the pros of swimming greatly outweigh the disadvantages. You can help your child easily master this indispensable skill in the saving of life by taking appropriate safety precautions and choosing a reputable swimming school. If your child is introduced to swimming early it can change his behavior towards sport dramatically and hopefully make him a fervent supporter.
Also Read: Benefits Of Water Play In Child Development
