Swimming: Seven Ways It Benefits Child Development

By Guest Blogger Aaron Reeves, CEO/Head Coach at High Point Swim Club

Over the years of working with children from ages preschool to college, we have found that those who started early and swam at any level through their developmental years had a higher level of success than those who did not. Most of the swimmers we have had through our program have gone on to college earning academic scholarships, live on the A/B Honor roll, and find themselves on the Deans’ list in college.

Swimming, as you probably know, is an important skill and not only can it save a life, but it can also make a great start to your child’s academic success. Swimming’s lifesaving attributes come in many forms, anything from a true emergency to lifelong fitness. Not to mention that it can also be tons of fun, but did you know that swimming is also good for your child’s development?

Here are seven attributes that benefit your child through swimming…

1 – Fine And Gross Motor Skills

Children who learn to swim develop both fine and gross motor skills faster than their non-swimming peers. In one study, children who learned to swim before the age of five had better balance than children who could not swim. They were also better at coloring inside the lines and using scissors to cut paper.

2 – Coordination

When you swim you use the entire body making it a great activity to help children with coordination. Kicking and pulling movements teach your child how to make coordinated movements of both sides of the body. The same is true for moving the arms.

3 – Strength

Do you know that water is over 800 times denser than air? It’s not easy to move through the water! You’ve probably heard that swimming is great exercise, and that’s why. Spending time in the water even helps babies develop the muscles they need to hold their heads upright. Additionally, splashing and playing they do during a lesson helps strengthen their joints.

And it’s not only their skeletal muscles that get stronger when they learn to swim, it also strengthens the heart, lungs, and blood vessels, too!

4 – Cognition

All that movement and coordination builds neurons in the child’s brain. That means swimming will help your child develop stronger academic skills.

One study by Griffith University found that young swimmers had vocabularies 11 months ahead of the non-swimming population. They were also more advanced in literacy and math.

Furthermore, the swimmers demonstrated a 17-month lead-in story recall, and they were able to understand directions at a rate 20 months ahead of their peers!

5 – Confidence

Studies have found that children who learn to swim are more confident and independent than their peers who don’t swim. They demonstrate greater comfort in new situations, along with higher self-esteem and better self-control.

6 – Social Skills

Because lessons are often given in group settings, children practice at an early age to interact positively with other children and adults. They also learn to share supplies and play with other children during a lesson. These social skills create an excitement to communicate their achievements to their friends and parents.

7 – Sleep And Appetite

Swimming is hard, have you ever watched a swimmer eat? Most eat anything and everything in sight. Olympian and World Record holder Michael Phelps is notorious for his 10,000 calories per day diet while training. Swimming helps with pickier eaters, and it encourages your child to get the nutrition he or she needs to grow.

Because swimming uses so much energy, it will also help your child’s sleeping patterns. That’s good news if your child is often reluctant to go to bed! And it helps babies sleep earlier and longer.

Swimming is an activity that benefits virtually every area of your child’s life, from his or her physical development to social skills, to increase his or her capacity for learning. Plus, it’s a lot of fun and may even help keep your child from drowning if he or she ever unexpectedly falls into the water. Our staff is the longest tenured in the triad. We have years of experience and to help your child attain these skills and more.

If you’d like to learn more about how swimming can help your child’s development or you’re ready to enroll your child in lessons, just reach out to us.

Phone: 336-887-4713
Email: Lessons@highpointswimclub.org
Website: HighPointSwimClub.org
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*Sponsored by High Point Swim Club

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