Swimming is possibly the only sport that will save your child’s life – subsequently, the younger you can encourage your child into the water and learning to swim, the better. There are an estimated 236,000 deaths by drowning worldwide every year. And according to the World Health Organisation, drowning is one of the top causes of death for people aged 1 to 14 years.
You can get your baby into water from birth, and in towns and cities across the country there are baby swimming groups that gather in local swimming pools to get their small babies used to the water, as well as enjoying the social aspect of spending time with other mums during a time that can be notoriously lonely for new mums. If you type in, for example, ‘swimming lessons Wyton’ into your search engine, you will find swimming clubs that are local to your specific area.
Benefits of getting your child into the water as early as possible
There are many benefits to getting you child into the water as early as possible. These are just a few:
- Splashing around in the water helps to build muscles
- Your child will be burning energy and will be healthily hungry for more food. Also, the exercise will help your child to sleep better at night.
- Through strengthening muscles, your child will be developing better balance and coordination both in and out of the water.
- Swimming also allows your child to build heart and lung strength
- Your child will build their own self confidence.
- The concentrated time spent in this joint activity helps to grow and deepen the bonds between a parent and child.
What age should a child start swimming?
You can start to get your newborn used to the water almost immediately. Choose your pool wisely, as you don’t want the water to be too cold. Most swimming pools have specific sessions for baby swimming so you can check these out online.
The more your child gets used to being in the water, and growing and strengthening, the more quickly they will learn to swim independently. When you feel your child is ready for proper swimming lessons, seek out professional lessons.
A professional will encourage your child to build skills and confidence through play based techniques in an environment that is fun and safe.
It’s like riding a bicycle!
The beauty of swimming is that once you’ve learned, you never forget – a bit like riding a bicycle. Many adults who never learnt to swim as a child grow up with an inherent fear of water that gets more and more difficult to overcome the older they get. As a result, they miss out on so much – not just the actual act of swimming, but also all other related activities.
There are a myriad water based activities, such as canoeing and kayaking, wind surfing, sailing, surfing and scuba diving. Paddleboarding is a gentle pastime that can take you into part of nature that you wouldn’t normally see on foot.
Holidays are also more restricted if you cannot swim. Beach holidays, lounging by the pool, splashing around with your loved ones. Not only are you left clinging to the side of the pool, but you spend all your time in a constant state of nervous anxiety because of the negative emotions that not being able to swim engenders.
In brief, swimming is life changing in so many positive ways, and the earlier that you get your child plunging with joy into the water, the more confident and happier they will be in the future.
