My personal experience.
I remember my first experience at the beach when I was a young child, I was petrified! I never had the advantage of growing up in a water loving family. The closest they came to taking a dip was in the bath and as a result my early years surround by water were quite daunting. Luckily for me, a close family friend with children my own age, would take us to the local swimming pool where we were taught how to swim. As soon as I lost the fear and intimidation of water, I soon discovered that there was no other place I would rather spend my spare time, than the pool or the beach. Today I think back and I am forever indebted to our family friend for introducing me to the joys of swimming but more importantly teaching me how to swim.
Reasons to teach your children to swim.There are many reasons we should teach our children how to swim as it is an important skill for all children to learn and has a wide variety of benefits.
Safety. The number one reason to teach all children how to swim is for their own safety. An unfortunate statistic shows drowning to be the second highest cause of death involving unintentional injuries in children from the age of one to fourteen. There are many different situations which we can imagine where as a parent you would feel far more assured to know that your child is able to swim. As parents we understand that it is not possible to watch over our children all the time and if you own your own pool or live near water you will soon discover children have a knack of finding themselves in the thick of it. For your child's sake alleviate the possibility of a water related injury by making sure your child attends swimming classes at a young age and learns the basics to survive a fall into a pool.
Physical Development. Swimming is a great activity to help aid in improving the motor skills of children. The coordination of arms and legs required to swim is a perfect way to help a child develop his or her awareness of their movement. An active child who participates in physical activities which could be anything from dancing to football, is more coordinated than a child who has no such experience.
Fitness.Teaching children early about the importance of fitness is a lesson which they can use for the rest of their lives. In a day and age where many children in the western world are overweight due to less physical activity, it is essential to educate your children that keeping fit is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Swimming is a great form of exercise to increase fitness levels as it is one of the best cardio vascular exercises. In addition swimming is low impact, has no physical confrontation as required in most team orientated sports such as football and is great for teaching the discipline required to maintain a healthy level of fitness.
Social Opportunities. Enrolling your child in swimming lessons is a great way for them to learn how to act in social environment tailored for children. As most swimming classes are taught in groups, they will soon learn how to communicate with other children their own age, participate in organized group activities which will require them to function as a team. Children are never too young to learn the importance of working and learning in social groups. In addition it will also provide new opportunities to make new friends.
Confidence. A method to help children improve their confidence is to allow them the opportunity to learn and develop new skills. Swimming is a great skill that can help instill a sense of confidence. Once a child starts seeing the obvious improvements in their swimming abilities, they will soon feel good about their accomplishments and as a result will feel good and confident in their own self.
Age. There are many different swimming programs available to parents and children which cater for infants as young as three months old, to toddlers and older. I think children are never too young to be taught how to swim in a controlled environment with professionals who guarantee the child is being educated in the best possible method available. Have a look at the different programs available to you at your local swimming center and meet the swimming coaches to discuss the lessons available to cater for the different levels of experience.
Personally. There are many classes which cater for both children and their parents to participate in the swimming lessons. All in all I believe that teaching your child how to swim is a life changing experience they will always remember. The first time they swam is a fond memory and you should want to share that wonderful experience with them. I now for myself I have never forgotten the close family friend who taught me the wonders of swimming!
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