The most obvious reason we begin our children in swimming lessons is to teach them how to swim. What you might not realize is how much more you are giving your child when you begin a good Learn to Swim program.
1. Tenacity and resilience: try, try, try again. More and more we are beginning to understand that the grit that helps us to keep trying without giving up is one of the most powerful gifts we can develop in our children.
Learning to swim well doesn’t happen quickly. In the pool children are praised for effort as much as outcome. Just when a swimmer aces one skill we begin developing a new and equally challenging one. They are praised and rewarded for being brave and having a go and through effort and consistency an effective swim begins to develop. Very little in the pool comes to us easily and swim class can teach children from an early age the skills of tenacity. This can help set up a child with coping mechanisms they’ll use for a lifetime outside the pool.
1. Tenacity and resilience: try, try, try again. More and more we are beginning to understand that the grit that helps us to keep trying without giving up is one of the most powerful gifts we can develop in our children.
Learning to swim well doesn’t happen quickly. In the pool children are praised for effort as much as outcome. Just when a swimmer aces one skill we begin developing a new and equally challenging one. They are praised and rewarded for being brave and having a go and through effort and consistency an effective swim begins to develop. Very little in the pool comes to us easily and swim class can teach children from an early age the skills of tenacity. This can help set up a child with coping mechanisms they’ll use for a lifetime outside the pool.
2. Following Instructions: The meaningful and joyful routines and songs you follow in your swimming lessons are actually teaching your child a much deeper social and emotional lesson.
Your swim teacher is asking your child to follow the same instructions each week and there are consistent rewards and outcomes. It’s surprising how quickly young children understand and follow their swimming routine. Children gain valuable confidence in understanding what is coming next and this consistency is a great behavior modifier. Same behavior = same outcome, every single time.
For very young children hearing their cue to hold their breath (1,2,3, etc) and then holding their breath for a submersion is the first of these lessons. For older children they begin to understand that good body position and arms and legs help them move through the water and following coaching instructions improves their swimming. This is great preparation for schooling.
Your swim teacher is asking your child to follow the same instructions each week and there are consistent rewards and outcomes. It’s surprising how quickly young children understand and follow their swimming routine. Children gain valuable confidence in understanding what is coming next and this consistency is a great behavior modifier. Same behavior = same outcome, every single time.
For very young children hearing their cue to hold their breath (1,2,3, etc) and then holding their breath for a submersion is the first of these lessons. For older children they begin to understand that good body position and arms and legs help them move through the water and following coaching instructions improves their swimming. This is great preparation for schooling.
3. Waiting: Particularly when your children are first in the water without their parents and before they can swim confidently there are series of activities that require waiting. This can be a hard nut to crack for some children but a good teacher will be praising their ability to wait and showing them tools they can use for waiting with a whole host of social skills like encouraging their classmates with clapping or singing and congratulating the other swimmers on their successes.
4. Maths and Literacy: This does sound like a bit of a stretch but bear with me. In a recent four year study from Griffith University of under 5s who participated in regular formal Learn to Swim programs children were ‘up to 15 months ahead of typical development in cognitive skills and problem solving’ and ‘11 months ahead of the typical population in Oral expression, six months ahead in mathematics reasoning and two months ahead in brief reading’ (source link below). These findings didn’t surprise me.
Learning to swim can be life saving. A good learn to swim program is teaching your child a whole host of skills that will prepare them for the school environment.
References:
Full Griffith report:
http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/550586/2013-EYS-Final-Report-30-July-13-JM.pdf
A shorter (I’m a parent and don’t have the time to read the full report, but I’m really interested and want to read the good bits) overview of the study:
http://app.griffith.edu.au/news/2013/08/13/swimming-a-smart-move-for-children/
Eaton Swim School: Swimming Lessons for children in Bunya, Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Ferny Grove, Everton Park, Albany Creek, Aspley and surrounds. We are very flattered that children as far away as Cabooluture and Graceville travel to our swim school.
Learning to swim can be life saving. A good learn to swim program is teaching your child a whole host of skills that will prepare them for the school environment.
References:
Full Griffith report:
http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/550586/2013-EYS-Final-Report-30-July-13-JM.pdf
A shorter (I’m a parent and don’t have the time to read the full report, but I’m really interested and want to read the good bits) overview of the study:
http://app.griffith.edu.au/news/2013/08/13/swimming-a-smart-move-for-children/
Eaton Swim School: Swimming Lessons for children in Bunya, Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Ferny Grove, Everton Park, Albany Creek, Aspley and surrounds. We are very flattered that children as far away as Cabooluture and Graceville travel to our swim school.
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