Q&A: Why children should keep swimming all year round
As another beautiful summer comes to an end and our days get colder and shorter it’s imperative our children continue their swimming. Kathleen Alger from Swimmagic highlights some of her reasons why swimming all year round is so important.
Why should kids keep swimming during the winter months?
In the winter months we tend to slow down, spend more time indoors and are generally less physically active so swimming helps keep kids active. Children have lots of energy; just ask anyone that has spent a rainy day indoors with their child! Swimming provides children the perfect opportunity to get active and burn some energy while parents can be assured they are in a safe and warm environment.
Will stopping swimming during winter affect their swim progress?
Any experienced swimming instructor will tell you how important it is to keep swimming through the winter months to ensure continued progress while ensuring skill and technique don’t lapse due to large breaks.
The more we do something the more confident we feel and swimming is no different especially for younger children who will grow a strong positive relationship with water through consistent year round lessons.
Does swimming offer crossover benefits with other sports?
Swimming is a fundamental skill with numerous crossovers to other sports. Research tells us that a balance of different sports is better than early specialization and swimming can be a fantastic way to create balance throughout the winter months.
Through swimming, transferable skills, greater creativity and better decisionmaking capabilities can be developed which can benefit a child in their chosen sport.
In what ways is swimming good for children’s learning and development?
Swimming has such great benefits for children’s learning potential. The exercise of swimming is very good for the brain. By continuing to swim year round, your children can have benefits of enhanced neurological development, advanced cognitive development, increased memory and improved social skills.
Will swimming during winter make my child more prone to being sick?
Children who swim year-round are less likely to become ill than
“Through swimming, transferable skills, greater creativity and better decision-making capabilities can be developed.”
those with a less active lifestyle. Hairdryers, warm clothing, and caps can prevent colds. Swimming never causes inner ear infections, and swimmer’s ear (outer ear infections) can be easily prevented by thoroughly drying the ears.
These five reasons are just the start, find out for yourself and head down to your local pool this winter and discover the other benefits of year round swimming!