When you think of enrolling your child in swimming lessons, what comes to mind? Do you think about long summer days watching your child splash happily in the pool or cheering them on as they swim in their first race? Maybe you think about spending summers at the lake or beach and watching your child swim with confidence and ease.
What you might not think about, however, is just how important it is to keep your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter. Though the short, cold days may seem like an unlikely time of year for swim lessons, there are numerous advantages to taking them in the winter.
1. Helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that appears at the same time each year. For children, winter can be a particularly difficult time as daylight hours become shorter, normal summer-fun routines get cut back, and cold weather prevents them from enjoying time outdoors. All of these things can lead children to feel symptoms of depression or unexplained fatigue. However, by enrolling your child in winter swimming lessons throughout the colder months, they can engage in regular exercise that’s been proven to help children get better sleep, keep appetites and energy levels up, and provide other relief to these symptoms.
2. Cures Cabin Fever
Being cooped up in a house more often than not during the winter months is tough on everyone—adults and children alike. Indoor activities such as board games and video games, while great, don’t do much for kids by way of physical exercise. And, you can only play the same games so many times before the boredom becomes almost too much to bear.
Kids especially have a hard time being stuck indoors. All their pent-up energy and activeness need an outlet of some sort. When cabin fever starts—or even before it ever has a chance to manifest—enroll your kids in winter swimming lessons. Winter swimming lessons provide a nice escape from the monotony that can set in after being stuck in a house for a couple of months while also letting them get much-needed exercise. It’s also a great opportunity to socialize and interact with other children.
2. Creates More Opportunities for Socialization
Winter can be a lonely time for kids. In the winter, your child doesn’t have as many opportunities to play with friends or meet new acquaintances at places like parks, playgrounds, or picnics. However, with weekly winter swimming lessons, your child can have a much-needed break from the confinement of the indoors while also having the chance to socialize with friends both new and old. Not only does this help thwart the loneliness that can often accompany long winter months, but it also keeps your child on a reliable schedule that they can look forward to throughout the week.
It’s easy to have a set, active routine during the summer months because it’s typically easier to spend time outside doing fun activities. Winter is a bit trickier. Children still need a reliable schedule to adhere to, even during the colder months. Incorporating winter swimming lessons into your winter routine will teach your children life skills and provide them with structure and stability in a routine. When a child becomes accustomed to a routine, they will learn independence and responsibility and be able to perform other tasks and activities on their own over time. Winter swimming lessons can help facilitate this learning curve.
3. Keeps Everyone Healthy
Moderate exercise is proven to help boost the immune system and keep your child healthy during a time when sickness tends to run rampant. And, while it’s best not to put additional stress on your child’s immune system if they are fighting an illness, enrolling them in winter swimming lessons when they are healthy will help them build a stronger immune system. Additionally, swimming helps your child stay healthy in the following ways:
- It improves cardiovascular health by keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels (for all ages) low.
- It’s one of the most effective exercises for kids to strengthen every muscle in their body.
- It helps your child burn off the calories in fat that builds up and clogs arteries.
- It helps prevent diabetes and childhood obesity.
4. Winter Swimming Lessons Facilitate Year-Round Safety
Perhaps one of the most important reasons to keep your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter is to ensure their safety and security around water. Unfortunately, the statistics on child drownings are very grim: an average of 350 children under the age of five drown in pools each year—the majority of which occur in June, July, and August. And, while having a few months of swim lessons here and there will no doubt help to give your child safe exposure to water, keeping them enrolled throughout the cold months with winter swimming lessons will give them the skills and techniques they need to stay safe in the water.
The basics of swim safety teach your child to turn over and float independently in case they accidentally find themselves in deep water. As the foundation of toddler and kids swimming lessons, instructors will help your child build upon these skills so they feel comfortable and confident while swimming in any body of water—from the bathtub to the ocean.
After a winter of swimming lessons, you can have peace of mind come summer when pools open, vacations call, and your child longs to go swimming.
As you can see, there are several key benefits of keeping your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter. Sign your child up for swimming lessons at SwimJim, today!