10 benefits of swimming: Why is swimming good for your kids?

I remember my granddad’s words. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. I used to laugh at him, but there was certainly good deal of truth in these words, he was fit as a fiddle. Probably one day I will be able to tell my grandchildren: A swimming lap a day, keeps the doctor away!

Why is swimming good for your kids? There are many benefits that swimming has on your body: the well-rounded impact on your health, quality of life, swimming as a therapy, reducing the risk of certain deceases (heart, lungs, etc.), as well as fighting the modern day “illnesses”: bad posture, laziness, being unsociable, depression, child obesity…

Let us remind ourselves…

Children become better after swimming, because:

They learn the “code” of healthy habits: Most children who start swimming at a very early age, or do any other sport, manage to keep their good habits throughout their lives. They simply learn the “code” of healthy habits. It can fade during puberty, but it can easily be reactivated because it stays deeply integrated. Swimming can develop healthy habits with children, and “cures”laziness.

It develops kid’s intellectual capacity: Apart from having positive effect on their physical health, swimming also affects and improves mental health of children. Are the kids who swim smarter? The science says yes! There are many researches showing significant progress of children who started swimming at the age of three. They develop faster than their peers – they do better at school (have better cognitive and physical development, as well as improved language skills)

It makes them smile: Swimming removes signs of exhaustion with kids. It gives energy to tackle new daily obligations and improves their mood. The research shows that if they swim longer than 20 mins they would be able to release endorphin that makes us feel happy. If your child is in a bad mood today, take him/her for a swim and both of you will feel much happier!

Boosts their immune system: If your child swims two-three times a week, he/she will be able to prevent, or reduce the possibility to develop many different deceases. Their immune system will become stronger and more resistant to their environment. As long as I was practicing swimming I had never been ill or absent from school. Swimming is like an apple a day – good prevention in general.

Improves their appetite: Kids who swim have better eating habits. After their swimming routine, they will almost never ask for junk food or nibbles, they would rather have a proper meal, or mum’s healthy sandwich or dad’s pasta that they can share with their best friend and make things even “tastier”. Of course, they will need to hydrate more. Give them water, and not some artificially coloured juice. My sister and I used to train swimming together for almost 10 years, and we were able to eat awhole loaf of bread after the training.

Improves quality of sleep: Children won’t have the need to fight about their favourite toy, or tell mom, because they will be so tired that they would rather go to sleep listening to their favourite story, sometimes even fall asleep standing. It’s important that they will always have a healthy and good sleep after swimming, and their parents a moment to themselves!• It boosts their self-confidence: Swimming builds up character and helps them become self-disciplined, emotionally stable, and more mature when the time comes. Kids who swim have no problems socialising.

Improves quality of free time: Kids who swim, as long as they are in the pool, do not have time for different screens and new age gadgets. Their fingers are put at better use, and mobile games, cartoons on TV and YouTube videos can wait.

It teaches them how to make sacrifices: While many other kids spend their weekend mornings sleeping longer or playing their favourite computer games, you and your child cane be at the swimming pool. Is there anything better than spending a quiet weekend morning sipping coffee and reading your favourite magazine?

It teaches them about life: Just like any other sport, swimming will teach them how to fight in life, compete with their rivals and themselves too. Not to give up even when it’s hard or when there is someone better than them… to know how to behave properly when losing or winning, to respect the rules of the game, accept awards but also deal with critiques. To be a good person!