What are the benefits of swimming?
The benefits of coming to Water Sprites swimming lessons with your baby early on can be significant. We have already mentioned the importance of bonding with your baby and how swimming is a relaxing experience for both of you in which to spend some quality time together. We have mentioned the importance of developing your baby’s own natural movements through the water and turning them into conscious movements of the arms and legs. But there are so many more benefits to taking your baby or toddler to swimming lessons!
It is good exercise, for both of you! You get a great arm workout during the swimming lessons and your little one gets an excellent cardio-respiratory workout, strengthening muscles and developing stamina. Baby swimming lessons may also help to improve their co-ordination and balance.
As well as water confidence and safety, your baby or toddler will benefit from the strength, co-ordination and cardiovascular exercises. Our swimming sessions also encourage language skills and a strong bond between parent and child, helping baby to relax whilst stimulating the senses in a variety of ways.
We believe that introducing babies and toddlers to water from an early age can help avoid the traumatic experience that some older children suffer around water. More importantly we believe that babies who learn key life saving skills from an early age, many of whom can swim by as young as 2 years old, will have a much greater regard for water and are safer around it.
Baby and toddler swimming lessons not only give little ones confidence in the water, but also out of the water too. They can be more sociable and interactive, and their self-esteem may grow too. Baby swimming can also encourage a better sleeping and eating pattern! And, we will try anything!
Scientific evidence has shown that 1.2 million people around the world die by drowning every year (that is more than two persons per minute) – from that more than 50% are children*. All over the world, infants and toddlers drown more frequently than people at any other age and for this reason safety skills are an important part of the Water Sprites experience. Children must always be fully supervised around water.
Swimming not only provides many physiological and psychological development benefits, but is also a unique opportunity for you and your baby to switch off from all of the other things going on and give you some one-on-one time together.
Many children say that swimming is their favourite family activity and going to the swimming pool on a weekend can be a great adventure for you to all bond together. Not only is swimming something that the whole family can enjoy, but it also has excellent health and fitness benefits and is an essential lifesaving skill.
3 million people go swimming every week. compared with 2 million who play football and 1.8million who cycle.
There are over 5,000 swimming pools throughout England, offering millions of people from every kind of background the opportunity to go swimming or take swimming lessons.
Swimming is a great way to burn fat. Even a gentle swim can burn up to 350 calories in half an hour and a fast front crawl can burn as many calories as an 8mph run.
Over 1 in 3 children say swimming is their favourite family activity. According to a YouGov survey carried out on behalf of British Gas February 2010. Based on 31% of 899 respondents choosing swimming from a selection of activities.
Children who had taken baby or toddler swimming lessons have been shown to do better in gripping, reaching and balance tests than non-swimming babies and toddlers.
Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death in children, yet 1 in 5 children leave school unable to swim. Children who have taken swimming lessons are more likely to be aware of water safety, in addition to actually being able to swim.
Water is about 800 times denser than air, and so swimming pool-based exercise results in high levels of energy expenditure with relatively little strain on the body.
At least one in six people in Britain suffer from stress or depression at any one time – rhythmic and aerobic forms of exercise such as swimming have been shown to improve psychological wellbeing.
Swimming can support up to 90% of the body’s weight in the water, meaning that those with disabilities, injuries or illnesses can take part in a comfortable and safe environment.
The support of the water for arthritis sufferers allows less painful movements in affected joints as well as toning up the supporting muscles. Swimming can also reduce the risk of arthritis by helping to retain normal muscle strength and joint structure.
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