Benefits of Swimming Lessons for Toddlers
There are countless benefits of swimming lessons for toddlers. The most obvious ones are related to the water. We are surrounded by water; pools and hot tubs are everywhere, as are natural bodies of water such as creeks, ponds, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Our attraction to water as a source of recreation and relaxation goes back millennia. This is because of water’s many physical, social, and emotional benefits.
Swimming lessons will benefit your child’s physical health by providing an aquatic workout. Moving in the water is a total body workout and challenges our cardiovascular system, as well as improving our muscular endurance. Therefore, regular swimming provides many of the critical components of a fitness routine!
Providing your child with swimming lessons will also help to prevent accidental drowning; an aquatically educated child who knows how to swim is better prepared for an aquatic emergency. At Steve Wallen Swim School, we teach children how to swim and how to be safe in and around the water. Water safety knowledge is an essential benefit of toddler swimming lessons that, in addition to constant and vigilant supervision, can help to prevent accidental drowning.
Benefits Away From the Pool
However, there are many more benefits of toddler swimming lessons that will translate outside of the pool environment. The learn to swim program at Steve Wallen Swim School is based on decades of experience, and our small class sizes allow for more individualized attention. Teaching people of all ages and abilities how to swim is all we do; we are experts. This expertise translates into an ideal learning environment for your children, where they will learn how to swim and much more.
Improve Cognitive and Behavioral Skills
When learning to swim in such ideal conditions, your little one has the opportunity to improve their cognitive skills too! In swimming class, children learn to listen to their instructor, respond when asked questions about what they are learning, and how to apply visual demonstrations and verbal cues to their own physical performance. In addition, by limiting our class sizes to small groups, your little one has more opportunities to engage with both the instructor and the water.
Another critical skill for little ones that they will learn in swimming lessons is how to wait patiently for their turn with the instructor. This introduces and somewhat replicates the more formal learning environments they will be exposed to in preschool, kindergarten, and beyond. Critical developmental milestones include seemingly simple skills such as listening to the teacher, developing trust and respect for them, and allowing others in the class to also participate and contribute.
An additional cognitive and behavioral skill used throughout lessons is listening to understand; your child’s swim instructor will verbally and physically cue a skill; your child will need to listen and observe to understand and replicate the skill. Our instructors are experts at keeping children engaged and on task; this will foster the skills to follow basic and more complex instructions requiring mental and physical performance outside of the pool.
Taking Turns
When you are small, taking turns and sharing is quite often a challenge. In the water, waiting for your turn to jump in or submerge is a safety issue. In lessons, children learn the importance of patiently waiting. Through this, they learn the social benefits of peer engagement and support, successful group interactions, and the development of friendships through mutual kindness and encouragement.
Join Us in Roseville or El Dorado Hills
Come learn to swim at Steve Wallen Swim School at either of our locations and start gaining the benefits as mentioned above and more!
