It’s believed by Royal Life Saving that every Australian should be able to swim for at least five meters by the age of six — and fifty by the age of twelve.
This is what’s considered a reasonable benchmark in terms of safety, but the longer, the better! It’s important to get your child involved in swimming as early as possible because it’s a life skill that might be invaluable to them in the future — or even someone else.
If you aren’t sure about the importance of swimming or aren’t convinced it’s necessary, read on for all the reasons that every Australian child should learn to swim.
Contents
Safety
Between the summer of 2019 and the summer of 2020, 248 people drowned in Australia.
Swimming is a life skill that can prevent this from happening. Australia is surrounded by water, and many people love playing in it — whether it’s at the beach, or somewhere more inland.
Unfortunately, the idea of drowning seems like such a rarity that too many people don’t bother to advance their swimming skills. 248 people drowning in a year may seem like a small number in comparison to the population of Australia, but it’s still 248 that were preventable had the people been better equipped for the water.
When it comes to children, as much as parents want to supervise them constantly, it’s not always possible. Children will eventually be on their own and when they are, the best thing you can do for them is make sure they’re equipped for the world — and the water.
The importance of learning to swim can’t be overstated.
Health and Exercise
Not only is it important to learn to swim for safety reasons, but it’s also a great form of exercise!
If you’re wondering why you should learn to swim when you don’t think you’ll ever be in a situation that you might drown, consider going to the water more for exercise. As long as you’re careful and experienced, it’s a great way to stay healthy.
It can increase muscle mass and give your child better coordination. Kids learning to swim sets them up for the future in some truly fantastic ways.
Just make sure you’re using someone trusted and reliable that’s teaching your child, such as State Swim.
It’s a Great Social Activity
Kids learning to swim is not only great for health and safety reasons, but it’s a good way to get them socializing with other children.
Swimming lessons can involve a group of children, which means they can make friends and boost their confidence. By enrolling them in classes, it’s an easy way to give them a social outlet outside of school and make them feel a part of something.
Being social is the key to raising a happy and healthy child who’s been exposed to different situations. It also means you can send them confidently off to their friend’s birthday pool parties without worrying that they might not be equipped for it!
It sets them up to thrive in so many awesome social situations.
It Will Provide Them With More Opportunities as an Adult
There are so many amazing opportunities in Australia that require swimming, including:
- Great water sport spots, such as surfing
- Diving (such as at the Great Barrier Reef)
- Swimming with different kinds of wildlife
These are experiences that your Australian child is fortunate to live by, as they don’t get them all over the world!
By getting them into swimming early, they’re opened up to so many awesome potential experiences as an adult. They’ll thank you for getting them swimming lessons when they can do all of this without being held back.
It Prepares Them for School
When it comes to babies learning to swim — or small children — it actually prepares them for school!
Being in a pool and listening to a swimming instructor means they have to learn to follow directions if they want to succeed. In school, some children have an issue with listening to an authority figure that isn’t their parents, and this can cause problems.
If they’re already used to listening to someone, however, and understand that sometimes they must do so to get ahead in life, they’re likely to settle in much better.
Not only will your children thank you for it, but their teachers might too!
Improves Motor Skills
If you’re starting them off early in the water, you’re going to give your children the tools to get better at other things.
For the first few years of a child’s life, their motor skills are still developing and will need some help. Swimming can do this for them!
As they grow, they’ll learn to crawl, walk, pick up toys, move things around, and eventually develop those fine motor skills that are needed while going into adult life. Swimming provides them with the necessary building blocks, which can make this process move a lot faster.
Help Your Child Learn to Swim to Watch Them Succeed In Life!
Swimming can help your child in many ways that you hadn’t even thought about.
While the obvious aspects of safety are perhaps the most important, to prevent them from ever becoming an unfortunate victim of the water, the exercise and social benefits are also huge. If your child wants to learn to swim, encourage them from the start and show them all the benefits — they’ll pay off in more ways than you could ever imagine.
For more inspirational posts about kids, check out the rest of our site!
Leave a Reply