3 Reasons to Convince Unsure Parents About Swim Lessons
When deciding on a sport for their children to play, parents often weigh the pros and cons based on safety, cost, etc yet I find swimming is one of the easier sports to convince parents to try. You might say that is based on the fact that knowing how to swim is a necessity, not a luxury and while that is true it isn’t the only reason why swimming enhances a child’s life.
As aquatic educators, we always knew that children participating in early swim lessons had a profound advantage over other children but until 2013 we never had the research to substantiate our beliefs. While these beliefs may not be new to us they are still surprising for many parents. Here are my top three reasons swimming is beneficial for young children:
Physical Activity
We all know when children engage in sports they become stronger and more coordinated and that is certainly the case for young swimmers. Swimming is particularly unique because it activates every muscle group and yet is very low impact.
Research shows children who participate in early swimming lessons were on average over 7 months ahead in motor achievement.
Cognitive Advancement
Most people assume when children participate in sports they develop stronger physical abilities but it turns out that isn’t the only area to experience advanced development. Studies showed children who swam were, “anywhere from six to 15 months ahead of the normal population when it came to cognitive skills, problem-solving in mathematics, counting, language and following instructions”.
Those are huge numbers- especially for children 5 and under.
Water Safety
The last and most obvious reason is safety. No matter if children are lucky enough to be near the water on a regular basis or are only exposed to pools during the summer months, knowing how to swim is a must.
As someone who has heard of one too many unnecessary accidents and deaths, water safety is on the top of my list for children. The CDC reported that “about one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger”.
That statistic is simply unacceptable.
Teaching parents & children the importance of safe entry and exits near the pool or the ocean is absolutely essential and it’s something I know many camp & aquatic professionals are passionate about.
I am hoping that this information will give you more ideas in your tool box for educating the parents on the benefits of swimming.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts and if there are questions you receive from parents you’re unsure about- let me know! As always please like, share & recommend this post if you found any value in this post.
