When to start swimming for kids? And how?
When to start swimming for kids? What courses to take? Questions that as parents we have asked ourselves at least once in our lives. Let’s try to clear up some doubts.
For a very long time, swimming was considered by pediatricians to be the most suitable sport for children . Unlike other disciplines, such as football and tennis, swimming has always been seen as the complete sport par excellence .
This is not exactly accurate, to be honest, but practicing swimming like any other sport is still healthy and useful for many aspects and for many reasons. Read here more about lifeguard course under the instructions of American lifeguard Association.
Swimming is a fun , pleasant sport that brings ample benefits to the personality by creating a spirit of sacrifice and resistance to fatigue, but it is still correct and important to advise this discipline by providing the correct information and always entrusting yourself to centers with certified instructors.
Many insiders recommend swimming for children, but possibly combining it with other disciplines in order to maximize and give a harmonious development to the body.
One of the main reasons is for children to learn to feel comfortable soaking in water, floating and swimming. Skills, which according to the United States Society of Pediatricians , boys and girls should develop as soon as possible, given that every year in Italy there are still too many drowning accidents involving boys and girls.
Moreover, a survey last year showed that in Italy 4 out of 10 children (under 14) cannot swim, and one out of two is afraid of high water and can barely keep afloat.
The message of the pediatricians is therefore clear: in preschool age, the little ones of the house must learn to swim so as not to find themselves in difficulty when they bathe in the sea, lake or pool.
What are the benefits of swimming for children?
The practice of swimming, in addition to being important for a matter of safety, is also important for the physical well-being of children, being a “complete” sport suitable for all ages. It is the best sport to bring children closer to physical activity in general, given that it is a sport which, practiced with a certain constancy, is able to increase various characteristics such as endurance , strength, coordination, reaction speed and the capabilities of the cardiorespiratory system.
It also helps weight control and is suitable for both boys and girls.
But in addition to the physical benefits, the aquatic environment helps improve children’s cognitive abilities, concentration and even self-esteem.
When to start a swimming course for our children?
I recommend introducing children to the practice of swimming around 3/4 years of age.
By learning to stay afloat and to move naturally in the water, they will also be able to manage, without panic, any inconvenience during, for example, an outing on the skate (they can slip and fall into the water) and also enjoy moments of play and relaxation in safety home pools, which unlike the public ones are not supervised by expert and certified lifeguards.
What are the cases where swimming is inadvisable?
The swimming pools of twenty years ago were full of children with scoliosis who had been enrolled in swimming lessons because pediatricians believed that swimming was the only way to improve the condition of the spine.
Unfortunately this is a myth to be debunked (and which has been scientifically debunked for some time) which could also cause serious damage. In fact, not only swimming can do nothing against scoliosis but, indeed, absurdly it could make the situation worse .
In general, however, it is good to know that those suffering from scoliosis should not practice any sport at a competitive level, but only as a supplement to the corrective gymnastics needed to keep the situation stable and not let it degenerate.
Furthermore, swimming is also not recommended for children suffering from valgus knee, flat foot and chronic pathologies affecting the otorhinolaryngological system.
To conclude, for parents, yes, swimming has a thousand benefits and some cases in which it is inadvisable, but it is certainly one of the most suitable and suitable activities for your child to approach sport.
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