Is your child scared of water? Does s/he avoid swimming lessons because of that? Children grow fast and are in the right period of their lives to acquire new and important skills, swimming being one of them thanks to its indispensable benefits.
Encourage them to ditch the fear, soak their feet into the water as they are about to reap the fruits of the following advantages of swimming.
7 benefits of swimming
1. Exercises your body
A full cardiovascular workout of the lungs, hearts and the entire blood circulatory system helps burn more calories than jogging or running. The ploughing movement of hands in water and the legwork engages you in simultaneous exercise of your upper and lower body through swimming.
2. Prepares for emergency situations
Let’s not forget that swimming helps you float on water without drowning. It’s a survival skill that makes you save yourselves in case of sudden flooding in your area or better, save someone else’s life. Being endowed with such an ability makes children be more responsible towards their surroundings and learn leadership skills along the way.
3. Controls breathing disorders
Many children suffer from asthma or infections that cause difficulty in breathing. Swimming works out your lungs as you inhale oxygen and exhale CO2 in optimum level, at regular intervals. This is because you’re exercising your body, that too by dipping your mouth under water to stay afloat.
These two conditions regulate your breathing and improves the condition of your lungs, thus drastically reducing the frequency of asthma attacks and occurrence of bronchial diseases.
4. Is within your reach
Regardless of where you stay, a swimming club or even a natural pond is there in your vicinity. Also, you don’t need to buy a lot of accessories like other sports activities to even get you started. A swimsuit is all you need. Thus, swimming makes for a really affordable form of exercise that everyone should learn.
5. Cures stress, boosts sleep
Swimming is really exhaustive. Children who are too bogged down by academic pressure to go out and play can find a good alternative in swimming.
After a harsh study routine, the cool water releases relaxing hormones called endorphins when you dip into a pool. Swimming relaxes your muscles and decreases your anxiety levels. Since swimming requires a lot of exercise, your child will feel tired yet will be relieved for the rest of the day and have a sound sleep cycle.
6. Makes you active
Allowing rehydration of skin and re-energising the circulatory system, swimming helps in better blood flow and thus gives a fresh look to your skin. Children who love swimming are more active throughout the day than their lethargic counterparts. Researchers suggest that swimming increases bone density and reduces chances of a lot of cardiovascular diseases, thus shaping a strong foundation for good health.
7. Is an inspiring sport
It’s a highly popular international sports form with adequate representation in the Olympics games too. Children fond of swimming can aspire to become professional swimmers and represent their state or country on a global platform.
Judging the high stress levels of schoolchildren today, swimming can be chosen to be a regular course to relax, have fun and even take it up on a professional level.