Teaching children to swim is something to consider, as it has significant benefits. Swimming is an important skill and a fun and healthy form of exercise.
Benefits of swimming for kids
Swimming provides many benefits, especially for kid's health, including:
Works the whole body
Swimming engages nearly all muscle groups in the body. The stroke movements in swimming activate the back, arms, hands, legs, abdomen, lower back, and core muscles.
Consistent training fosters strength and flexibility across the body, enhancing posture, fitness levels, and overall strength. Furthermore, swimming aids in refining motor skills and enhancing the child's body coordination.
Equipping them with fundamental abilities to manage water emergencies and ensure their safety
Swimming offers the primary advantage of teaching your child proper swimming techniques. This equips them with essential skills to handle water emergencies effectively and stay secure. Learning techniques like floating, leg kicking, and arm movement are crucial for safe swimming.
Boost self-confidence
Regular swimming practice boosts a child's water confidence, making them feel at ease and self-assured when encountering new water challenges. This heightened confidence enables them to remain composed and react appropriately during emergencies.
Improves sleep quality
As a complete form of aerobic exercise, swimming can improve a child's overall health. Regular swimming exercise improves blood circulation, organ function, and a child's ability to fall asleep.
A suitable choice for individuals dealing with asthma
Swimming in a clean, well-kept pool helps lessen exposure to dust, pollen, and other airborne allergens that frequently cause asthma attacks. Aerobic exercise, such as swimming, helps strengthen respiratory muscles, expand lung capacity, and enhance cardiovascular health.
Ultimately, swimming helps to increase endurance and reduce shortness of breath associated with pediatric asthma conditions.
At what age can kids begin swimming lessons?
By the age of 4, children are ready to learn to swim. At this age, children can learn basic water survival skills such as floating, treading water, and trying to get out of the water. It is important to ensure that the child receives swimming lessons from a qualified instructor and in a safe environment. Be sure to consider the child's ability, comfort, and interest and prioritize safety around water.
If you need medical advice or consultation, you can either visit a doctor or make use of the consultation features that are available in the Ai Care application by downloading the Ai Care application from the App Store or Play Store.
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- dr. Monica Salim
Ashley Marcin (2017). What Are the Top 12 Benefits of Swimming?. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-swimming
Healthy Children (2023). Swim Lessons: When to Start & What Parents Should Know. Available from: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Swim-Lessons.aspx
Kids Health (2022). Water Safety. Available from: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/water-safety.html
Swimming.org (2023). Help your child develop water confidence. Available from: https://www.swimming.org/learntoswim/children-water-confidence/
Swimming.org (2023). Asthma and swimming. Available from: https://www.swimming.org/justswim/asthma-and-swimming/