How can you be the best swim parent?

For a child in competitive training, the schedule is grueling, tiring, and emotionally exhausting.

However, as a parent, it might be even worse. It is certainly not easy to bring up a child who is a competitive athlete, with swimming being one of the more time and resource-consuming sports.

Supporting your child as a parent is difficult enough as it is, but the work required as a swim parent is still more difficult.

The requirements for swimmers are not limited to transport and equipment. As a parent, you should be able to create an atmosphere for your child that allows them to perform their best.

Being their support system and their point of reliance is especially important, as well as providing them with the necessary resources they need to achieve more.

How can parents support their young swimmers?

Athletes require a lot of support from coaches, as well as parents.

For competitive swimming, the mental and physical toll on the athlete is considerable. Other than finding good coaches and clubs for training, parents must look after a number of items, that we have listed here.

Children going for competitive swimming need a lot of support from their parents. Other than looking for good swim clubs to train in, parents need to take care of a lot of things.

Commute and travel arrangements

If you live in a big city, the swimming facilities there will be extensive. However, this means that travel time will also be huge.

If you are parenting a competitive swimmer, we seriously recommend moving closer to your pool or training facility. Sometimes, you can also look at changing schools to further reduce travel time.

Since swimmers can have up to three training sessions a day, cutting down on commute will be both beneficial for the athlete and the parent. As a parent, you will be less tired to drive from place to place. Your child will also be more grateful for the extra rest they receive.

Other than this traveling, we also have to consider swim competitions and meets.

Attending meets and events is very important for your child. You should always be present at competitions to watch your child’s progress and provide them with support, and motivation to perform their best at events.

Having the support of parents often helps athletes gain the confidence they need to excel.

If your child is a national, zonal, or attends meets outside of the city often, it is also important to plan for accommodations and travel for your child.

These competitions can last for several days, and it is also advised that the parent accompany the child to such important competitions to provide them the support they need.

This will make their experience stress-free and give them a sense of comfort while giving them the care they need during such important moments of their swimming career.

Provide healthy food and hydration

Any athlete must stick to a strict regiment for their health and diet. Sometimes, it is difficult for children to follow through, so parents must monitor the food, water, and nutrition of their children.

Swimmers need enough of every food group to fuel them through workouts and develop their muscles.

Such healthy foods are not very exciting for children to eat. They often complain about the necessity of such diets. However, as a parent, it helps to prepare healthy and nutritious food for your child so that they reach their daily value requirements, while also enjoying their meal.

This is not limited to food. Find protein shakes & smoothies and energy drinks that will keep your swimmer active and fit.

Provide proper equipment

Parents must be able to purchase equipment for their child when needed. Swimming requires a lot of resources, and they are quickly tarnished because of the chlorine water. As parents, it is important to keep stock of and repurchase swimsuits, goggles, headcaps and more. Parents should ensure that their child has the proper swim equipment, such as a well-fitting swimsuit for boys and girls, while making sure that the equipment is in good condition.

High-quality swimming gear such as flippers and paddles should always be bought. This will ensure your child does not get injured during training, and will allow them to practice to the best of their ability. They shoud last long as well, and should be replaced as soon as the child grows out of their gear.

Be a support system

Being an athlete comes with its emotional highs and lows. When a swimmer is feeling demotivated or low, it is up to the parent to help them regain their josh and confidence.

Swim parents need to provide a lot of emotional support to their children every day. Nothing comes close to the love and support of a parent, so you must always provide your child with that comfort space.

Swimming coaches are also incredibly tough on their trainees. Instead of being more grueling on your child, allow them to tackle their coaches’ feedback positively.

Help them take everything in stride, and do not use negative encouragement to see them improve. Always provide your child the safety and the words of affirmation they need to perform well, with a dose of constructive criticism.

This is not restricted to training. As mentioned above, race days are also very important. Always be there to support your child, cheer them in their race, or comfort them if their race did not go well. Showing interest in your child’s sport and events will help them feel appreciated and acknowledged.

Be attentive

During a race or a hard workout, watching your child perform can help them feel more motivated, or more proud of their accomplishments.

It provides them with an audience that they improve for. Words of encouragement and support help swimmers stay motivated and focused.

Other than this, swim coaches often give their students many inputs to help them improve. They also provide many instructions during other events or races.

As a parent, you should take note of these, and list them down as improvements for your child. If your child is missing these improvements and not consciously implementing them, remind them of what they need to work on, so that they can concentrate and improve on the same.

Be a positive role model

In order for children to perform well, they will usually look up to an adult figure of importance to follow. You should always be a positive role model for your child by exhibiting positive behavior and attitude towards the sport and life.

You should be disciplined, allowing your child to know that they are not alone in their journey towards achieving greatness. Live with your child, instead of living with them.

Sleeping early, eating healthy, and maintaining a stable home environment will allow them to take after. They will start to perform well, as long as they have something constant and stable to follow.

Where parents should not interfere in swim training

There are some things parents should leave to the coach. It is important to know when to back off and not create more problems for the child. The role of a parent is important, but it should not come in the way of the child. Here are a few things you should stay away from as a swimming parent.

Giving inputs during training

Many parents feel the need to start teaching or give input on stroke while training happens. While you watch your child swim, you can always make mental notes. But avoid interrupting the class.

Remember, the swim coach is the best person to train your child. They have more experience. Do not interefere while the child is training and give them advice. This could contradict with what the coach is saying and confuse your child. It could also anger the coach, which would further upset the child.

Comparing with other swimmers

Parents tend to compare timings for different strokes with other fellow swimmers. This does not help a swimmer in any way.

A swimmer should not aim to compare timings with other swimmers. They should strive to improve their personal best. One way to improve your timing is to maintain a swim log book.

Healthy competition during training is always beneficial, but you should never tell your child to aim to outperform another swimmer.

All swimmers have different strengths and capacities. They have different rates of improvement. It is never fair to compare one child to another. By asking your child to improve on themselves, you provide healthy motivation, which is more than enough.

Forcing a child to swim

Many parents put their children in swimming because they want their children to pick the sport up, or they want their children to excel.

However, a swimmer’s performance is directly correlated with their motivation to swim. You should never force your child to swim if they are not interested.

Respect your child’s wishes if they say they do not wish to continue swimming. Their time and interests are important and should be respected. You should never force your child to participate in a sport they do not like, because it will negatively affect them.

Burning out your child

Young athletes are especially vulnerable to burnout and overtraining. If a child is experiencing physical or mental exhaustion, it’s important for parents to take this seriously and allow the child to take a break from swimming.

Talk to swim coaches and therapists if needed to understand when your child needs a break.

If timings are coming to a standstill, or the child is frequently experiencing injuries, you should allow them to take a break.

Let them try some other physical experience that does not put their body at risk. Mental exhaustion is also very important to consider. If a child is continually feeling dejected from training, consider switching training classes or giving your child time away for reflection.

Other than this, make sure your child is able to manage swimming alongside their lives.

Academics and swimming can be very strenuous. Help them make a schedule, or find tutors for them. Ensure your child goes to sleep early, and has time for rest.

Provide them the support they need so that they are not overworked, stressed, or burnt out.

Swimming during injuries

If a child is injured in a way that is impacting their ability to train or compete, it’s important for parents to work with coaches and medical professionals to address the issue and to prioritize the child’s health and well-being.

Parents should remember that swimming should be fun and enjoyable for the child, and not something that is forced upon them.

Additionally, it’s important to keep the child’s overall well-being and safety in mind, and not push them beyond their limits. When a child is injured, allow them to take the proper rest that they need.

If the child is trying to overwork themselves on an injury, you must stop them. Sometimes, swimmers will try to attend practice on injured limbs in order to keep up their timings, or simply because they love the sport.

You should be aware of how a swimmer can avoid injury. You should make sure they take the rest they need, and do not injure themselves further.

Remember that every swimmer is different and may have different needs, it’s important to communicate with the swimmer to understand how you can best support them.