Written by Nuala Muir-Cochrane, Swimming Participation Manager, David Lloyd Clubs
Reasons why your child should learn to swim are many and varied. The most important reason though is that swimming is the only sport that can save your child’s life. Drowning is still one of the most common causes of accidental death in children, so being able to swim is an essential life-saving skill. You need to give your child the chance to learn to swim.
Swimming also provides lots of health benefits which can help to keep your children healthy and happy at the same time. Swimming:
- Keeps your child’s heart and lungs healthy
- Improves strength and flexibility
- Increases stamina
- Improves balance and posture
Another great thing about swimming is that children of any age or ability can take part and it is more accessible for children with additional needs than almost any other sport and it can really help with children’s overall confidence too:
- Swimming provides challenges and rewards accomplishments, which helps children to become self-confident and believe in their abilities
- Your child will have plenty of opportunities to make friends and grow in confidence
It’s not all about practicality though – swimming is also lots of fun and children especially love getting in the water and enjoying themselves!
But health, fun, and confidence are not the only reasons why your child should learn to swim. Learning to swim also opens up the door to a range of other activities including:
- Kayaking
- Canoeing
- Scuba diving
- Surfing
- Triathlon
- Yachting
Learning to swim is a skill that once learnt is rarely forgotten. Remember, you can’t always be there. Learning to swim may save their life one day.
Top Tips
- Take your children to a swimming pool as often as possible when they are babies and continue this throughout their childhood. This will develop a healthy relationship with water
- Enrol into swimming lessons ASAP – they’re never too young to learn
- As a parent, if you are not a confident swimmer, enrol in lessons yourself
- Swimming can be a great family activity – whatever your children’s age
- Get them to try wild swimming – lakes, rivers, the sea – this is not the same as swimming in the controlled environment of a swimming pool, so:
- Do not swim in a body of water unless you are familiar with it and have seen lifeguards patrolling the area
- If in doubt don’t swim, never underestimate the risks of wild swimming for adults and children