13 proven benefits of swimming for children
Swimming is a good exercise for children and teens and can be an excellent sport for fun and training. Learning how to swim like learning how to cycle is a skill that remains a lifetime. Here we talk of the benefits of swimming.
Swimming is fun and enjoyable, low impact, but a useful full-body workout. The water is excellent for the body and has a therapeutic impact on the mind. It is excellent for overall fitness, strength, flexibility, and endurance, not to mention that swimming is a life skill all individuals should have. Gym workouts are also necessary for swimmers for overall improvement of body control and endurance
Learning how to swim makes children competent and confident in the water. You can enrol your child in one of the summer camps to start swimming during her holidays.
Benefits of swimming
Swimming provides physical, social, and mental benefits. Here we talk about the physical benefits of swimming.
Full body workout
Swimming is a great way to get a full-body workout that engages all of your major muscle groups, including your arms, shoulders, back, core, hips, and legs. Swimming regularly can help improve your strength, endurance, flexibility,
Secondly, swimming is an excellent workout for sore joints and muscles. If you are an ex-athlete, or spend a lot of time at a desk job, chances are that you have some sore muscles from inactivity or even overactivity.
Unlike other sports, there won’t be extra pressure on a specific muscle.
Swimming for weight loss
Swimming is a calorie-intensive workout. It boosts appetite, and children who are picky eaters will suddenly find themselves eating healthily. Swimming won’t lead to weight gain, instead, will lead to muscle building
It burns extra calories and maintains optimum body weight. The children use their energy in a positive way. It is an excellent cardio exercise, as well as strength.
Tones muscles and builds strength
Swimming is an excellent sport for muscle conditioning. Many people switch to swimming and hydrotherapy after an injury because movement in the water feels natural and isn’t strenuous.
Swimming is also the only sport that is done sideways, which means you have to work harder against gravity and water resistance. This gives swimmers a lot of power and strength conditioning. This can be said for all ages.
It is a great exercise regimen for all the joints, and also improves lung and heart capacity from breath control. It also doesn’t put a high impact on the body and its musculoskeletal system.
Cardiovascular strength
Swimming is very good for improving cardiovascular strength. If you suffer from asthma, breathing problems, heartburn or more, swimming is a good sport. It improves lung strength and builds aerobic function in the body.
It has benefits in the long run as well, and as an adult or older, you will find improved cardiovascular health. Even half an hour of swimming and breath control can greatly improve your lung capacity.
Survival skills for kids
Every parent is concerned about the safety of their child and is also very protective of their child, it is also every parent’s top priority. but some surveys suggest that drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death in children. As shocking as the statistics might seem this is the truth.
Swimming is a vital survival skill one must have to sustain in water or protect themselves in water, hence if kids are trained in swimming it will be a survival skill that they have learned and the parent can have one less thing to worry about.
Boosts immune system
Swimming has been shown to boost the immune system by increasing the production of white blood cells, which can help protect against illness and disease.
Builds endurance
Swimming is an intense workout, and doing it for an hour will boost the body’s ability to survive on an anaerobic oxygen supply, thus boosting endurance. Since it asks a lot from the body, it creates well-trained and toned, physically capable bodies. The range of possible workouts for swimming means that the body soon becomes capable of aerobic, anaerobic and high-intensity workouts.
he will become keen on setting targets for himself and bettering his own timings. This process will go a long way in the making of self-motivated and high-performing adults.
Low impact sport
Swimming is a low-impact sport, as the water absorbs much of the impact. It is the perfect medium for a full-body workout, especially if you easily get injured.
Swimming relaxes the muscles without putting too much strain on the body. Swimming is therefore perfect for all body types. It also burns a lot of calories, and is excellent for weight loss.
Because you do not exert pressure on specific joints and bones as you do during running, weight lifting, tennis etc, you are less likely to get injured. Because the whole body is worked out without external pressure, it can be very helpful for toning the body. Swimming injuries are rare and the common injuries are just cramps and crashing into the wall during backstroke.
Healing Element
Many people also say that being in water as an element is healing. In fact, being in contact with earth elements has the ability to bring out mental peace and boost brain activity. After a swim, you will find yourself more refreshed, active and alert.
Improves posture
Swimming can help improve your posture by strengthening the back muscles and promoting spinal alignment. It engages the muscles in your back, particularly the muscles of the upper back and shoulders, which help to support good posture.
Swimming requires reaching forward and extending your arms, which can help stretch the muscles in your chest and improve your posture.
Improving core strength: Swimming engages the core muscles, which help to support good posture by providing stability and balance to your body.
Enhances brain function
Swimming can improve cognitive function and brain health, including memory and attention span. Swimming is a cardiovascular exercise that increases blood flow to the brain, which can help improve cognitive function. It also involves controlled breathing, which can help improve oxygenation of the brain and promote overall brain health.
Enhances flexibility
Swimming can help increase flexibility and range of motion in your joints, particularly in your shoulders, hips, and neck.
Swimming requires balance and coordination, which can help improve these skills both in and out of the water.
Improves Sleep
Since swimming is good exercise and a whole-body workout, it causes enough physical exhaustion for kids to have a good night’s sleep.
It also helps to reduce stress and is a great way to achieve emotional balance. Regular exercise can help regulate your sleep-wake cycle and improve the quality of your sleep.
How often should a child swim?
2-3 times a week for 1 hour is a good regime that children can follow. If children want to pursue advanced and competitive swimming, the number of sessions and rigor is much more. Though it is good to start training for competitive swimming at an early age, it is always important for the child to be ready for it and invest in it fully.
Why swimming is still not a popular sport in India?
Swimming as a sport has not gained as much popularity in India as other sports like cricket, football, and badminton. There are several reasons for this
Lack of infrastructure
India lacks proper swimming facilities and infrastructure for training and competitions. Many schools and colleges don’t have swimming pools, and the few that do have limited access to them.
Limited exposure
Swimming is not widely promoted or publicized in India, unlike other sports like cricket and football. This limits the exposure of the sport to the general public and potential athletes.
Cost
Swimming requires a lot of resources, including specialized equipment, training, and travel expenses. This can be a deterrent for many families who may not have the financial means to support their children’s participation in the sport.
Fear of water
Many children are scared of water and they do not want to get their head under water. Even parents are not very eager for the fear of water borne diseases.
Difficult sport to start
It is also true that learning how to swim is difficult. It takes time and effort to perfect the skill. And unless you perfect the skill, you cannot swim faster.
Access to trainers
Swimmers also find it difficult to access good trainers or swim coaches. There are not many well trained coaches in small cities and the children do not get trained in necessary skills to swim faster.
In conclusion, you do not need to be an excellent athlete to enjoy the benefits of swimming. You can find peace with your body and self, while knowing that you are working to be healthier. It is fit for anyone looking to improve their health, through some very simple ways. If you wish to be a healthier person, swimming is always the right fit for you, and will show you much improvement in a short while.
