Happy New Year! In just a few months, schools Easter and Summer holidays will soon be upon us. Yes, another swimming season will be in full swing soon!
We all like a break but, children live for their school holidays and nothing could be more fun than going to the beach or to the pool. Swimming provides bonding time for families and an opportunity to form fond memories for kids.
Whether you are going to be spending your holiday by a beach, or a lake or a swimming pool, holidays can be great fun if all members of a family can swim and enjoy the water.
In order to be safe in and around water, a child has to learn to swim competently and properly. Lacking swimming ability could have serious consequences. When you say a person is a confident swimmer, it means a child, or an adult can travel in water independently without showing any sign of distress for a considerable distance and without needing any flotation devices or help from others.
The skills required to swim with proper technique are complex. In order to become competent swimmers, children have to take swimming lessons for at least 5 or 6 years. Most children who started swimming with us as at 3 years old, are competent swimmers by age 8. This means they can swim all four main strokes, can swim 200 meters continuously, tread water for minimum of 1 minute and dive.
Consistency is Number One
Children are creatures of habit and find security in having things repeated (as you’ve probably noticed after hearing the word “again!” shouted with joy over and over about the same activity). When learning to swim, there’s also a strong case for repetition as it can help enforce the swim skills being taught and increase muscle memory.
Swim Year Round
There’s a misconception out there about an optimal time to have swimming lessons. We’ve heard parents say that they only bring their kids in the spring and summer, since it’s too cold during other times of the year. Or, we hear spring and summer is when they’ll be spending the most time around pools and water parks. But skipping a few weeks or months at a time can be detrimental to your child learning how to swim.
Swimming lessons for kids are only truly successful when the kids are coming to classes regularly. A month or two away from class might seem like an eternity to a child, and it also can result in lost muscle memory, lost (or reduced) skills and a setback in comfort around water entirely. The advantage of lessons at an indoor swimming pool is that weather doesn’t have to have any bearing on whether or not your little ones can keep learning to swim. They can swim year-round, consistently.
So, when you think about child development and swimming lessons for kids, it’s important to remember that consistency – and frequency – go a long way. The general rule is that the more your child can attend classes, the faster they’ll progress and retain what they’re learning. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about our swimming lessons.
Email us at swimsoundliverpool@gmail.com or call us on 07746269375
