How Do Swimming Lessons Improve a Child’s Physical Development?

Swimming lessons are not just hugely valuable for your kids so that they learn how to be safe in the water, but regular swimming workouts have some wonderful benefits for your child’s physical development too.

Swimming plays an important role in physical development – here’s why:

• Overall fitness

Swimming is considered to be one of the best forms of physical exercise for people of all ages, including children. Swimming is perfect for getting the heart racing and the blood moving around the body, which helps develop fitness and stamina, and it provides an all-over body workout by utilising most muscle groups.

• Builds strong muscles

As your child kicks, pushes, pulls, stretches and reaches through the water, their muscles need to work harder against the extra resistance that water provides. Muscles, therefore, strengthen more quickly, lengthen and gain flexibility, which provides the basis for a strong and agile body. Because swimming is low impact, gentle on the body and non-contact, less strain is put on joints than other forms of exercise, making injuries fairly uncommon.

• Improves heart health and vital organ function

Swimming helps the body to use oxygen more efficiently by providing a steady cardiovascular workout that stimulates heart and lung function.

• Promotes other vital skills

Swimming enables children to improve essential skills such as balance, posture, coordination and concentration. It also greatly helps in the early development of fine and gross motor skills. Research has shown that those who regularly swim during early childhood development are more capable at cutting paper, colouring in and drawing lines and shapes, when compared to others of the same age.

• Weight management

Swimming is a light yet effective aerobic exercise which keeps kids moving, helping to prevent childhood obesity, which has been linked to juvenile diabetes.

• Promotes intelligence

Swimming also has a positive effect on the brain. A study done by Griffith University in 2012 showed that children who participate in regular swimming activities not only reach physical milestones faster but have a higher level of intelligence due to an earlier brain and cognitive development.

• Stress buster

Swimming offers a form of relaxation which can help calm a tired, stressed or frustrated mind. When it comes to kids, swimming may provide the perfect outlet for them to relax and let go of their daily pressures, which will result in a happier, healthier state of mind.

So, it’s clear that swimming lessons are not only important for keeping your child safe in and around the water, but they also offer many benefits to a child’s physical development. At Tanya’s Tadpoles, we have a whole range of swimming classes to suit you and your child, no matter how old they are or what their level of skill or fitness is.

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