Mental Health Benefits of Swimming & Pool Safety Tips for Children

Most of our country has two kinds of weather… hot and hotter. And no one knows it better than me sitting here in Chennai, arguably one of the hottest places in India. As temperatures still continue to soar, what could be better than a dip in the pool.

Swimming has taken on as a healthy, affordable and do-able way to exercise for all ages and besides it is a great way to have a relaxed & fun family time. Teaching your child to swim and encouraging her to swim regularly and within safety norms, perhaps is a great health builder.

Benefits of Swimming for Kids & Adults- 

Swimming Health Benefits:

is a proven cardiovascular workout that is good for the heart and lungs. It improves flexibility and posture, builds muscle strength and stamina. If you are looking for a way to prevent childhood obesity or losing weight, prevent juvenile diabetes, in a relaxed & enjoyable way, swimming may just be the answer. What’s more is the fact that it wont increase wear and tear of joints, ligaments or connective tissue. If your child is underweight and you cant get her to eat, swimming is a great way to build appetite.

Benefits of Swimming for Mental Health:

Apart from the apparent physical benefits, swimming has some more takeaways. It improves mental and emotional health. The natural buoyancy of water is relaxing and improves the mood, 24 Hour Fitness says. It is very good for preventing and tackling depression and decreases study or exam stress. It also improves mind- body coordination in children. Learning swimming from a trained instructor who gives them goals to achieve, like increasing lap-time or going faster, encourages kids to learn about goal setting and gives them a sense of achievement.

Swimming Social Benefits:

Most pools have lots of children coming in at specific time slots. You can build your childs’ social skills by encouraging his/her to make an own group of friends outside his/her school. It will also help in building a more active lifestyle with like minded friends.

Family-time:

Nothing like swimming together to have some great family bonding on weekends. We have taken to swimming on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and it helps us not just to have fun with my daughter, who loves it, but also sets an example of fitness and exercise which would remain with her for life.

What Safety Precautions During Swimming? 

Learning to swim is a key life skill and essential for every person, whether they live near a water body or not. Drowning is the second leading cause of death for the age group of 5-24 according to KidsHealth.org. In an emergency situation, it is important that your child knows how to save himself, say for example if s/he falls accidentally into an unguarded pool or while at the beach.

Safety in the Pool: Some essential things to remember whether you are a teenager going for swimming or a parent of a toddler during her first swimming lessons.

• Please stick to pool rules.
• Caps and goggles are necessary to prevent infections to the eye and pool hygiene.
• Shower before or after your dip, this will also help in preventing an infection.
• Never dive if the instructions say so and guide your child to not go into the water without adult supervision, even if s/he has the safety gear.
• Don’t run in the pool area or push or jump on others. Never chew gum while swimming, this is a choking hazard. Remember, your child is watching you, & there are high chances that s/he may just pick up these habits from you.
• If you are in a lake, on a beach or in a water park, please make sure there is a life guard around before going towards the water. If boating, always wear a life jacket. Don’t swim or boat after dark.
• You can have your child start swimming at a very young age, from 3 years old, but make sure the pool you go to, has a kids pool and the trainer is well versed in handling kids that small.

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise. I learnt swimming late in life but I have never had so much fun doing anything else. So, this is the time you join the local pool and have a waterfall of fun!