What is Swimming?
Swimming is not just an essential life-saving skill but also an excellent exercise for people of all ages, including children. This is why people prefer to enroll their children in a swimming class at an early age. Besides, swimming is a fun activity liked by most children and adults.
Swimming renders various physical, mental, and social benefits to children, including:
Benefits of swimming for kids
Health Benefits
As stated earlier, swimming benefits everyone. It is a great cardiovascular activity that significantly improves children’s heart and lung conditions. Since swimming involves complete body movement, it enhances the balance and flexibility of your kid. Moreover, it keeps away common childhood health issues like obesity.
Mental Development
Regular swimming practice will help your kid develop an excellent muscle-mind connection as swimming needs them to make continuous and swift muscle movements. It is known to help kids develop intelligence and brain capabilities.
Improve Social Skills
A swimming class requires your child to indulge with other children of similar age groups in a more fun and playful ambiance. It vastly improves the social engagement skills of your child and helps them develop better social instincts and behavior.
Safety and Life-Saving Skills
Swimming is a life-saving skill that everyone should learn. Moreover, every fifth person who loses their life from drowning belongs to the age group younger than 14. Therefore, childhood is the best time for your kid to learn how to swim. However, it does not mean you do not need to supervise your kids if they know how to swim.
Helps With Stress
The modern lifestyle and easy access to the internet and social media can trigger stress in children. Coping with stress is not easy for them. Therefore, a sport or physical activity like swimming should be incorporated into their routine that can increase levels of endorphins in their brain and elevate their mood to relieve stress.
Boosts Confidence
Swimming can enhance confidence and self-esteem in children who are shy and introverted. The improved confidence and self-esteem will help them deal with various social situations and communicate better with peers.
What to Expect From a Kids’ Swimming Class
Swimming lessons are necessary for children, and experts recommend parents enroll their kids in a swimming class once they turn four years old. The high buoyancy of 90% of the human body makes swimming an excellent workout for children as it has a low impact on joints and muscles and yet requires higher energy levels.
However, it doesn’t mean that your kid’s first lesson will be all laughs and fun. The truth is most kids cry when they first learn to swim, but you should not let it stop your kid’s swim lessons. They will eventually like being in the water and enjoy their swimming lessons.
Make sure you introduce your kid to the instructor and let them create a bond to nurture trust. Listen to the suggestions and tips the instructor has to offer and let them know if you have a doubt regarding anything.
What Parents Should Know?
It does not matter if you send your kids to a private swimming class or take them to a public pool to teach them how to swim; you have to ensure optimum security for them. Ensure you get them water goggles, swimming caps, swimwear, and all the essential accessories for their safety.
Moreover, if you have a pool at home, do not allow your kids to swim or play near the pool when you are not around, even if they know how to swim. You must understand that none of the swim lessons are capable of making your kids drown-proof.
Apart from the above, you should go for a class where swimming instructors are highly experienced and qualified. You should also ensure that there are on-duty lifeguards with first aid and CPR certification.
You should also focus on developing good safety skills in your kid as it will make them ask before they get into a pool, lake, river, or any other water body. Make sure you tell your children what to do if they unexpectedly fall in water or how to swim with clothes on. These self-rescue techniques will ensure your kid’s safety in the water.
Swimming Classes for Kids in UAE
There are lots of swimming classes for kids in every corner of the UAE, some of which are mentioned below. You must select a swimming class with highly experienced and qualified instructors and lifeguards to ensure your child’s safety while they learn to swim.
