The many wonderful reasons to teach your child to learn to swim:  Being part of that process can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences a parent can have with their child.

By Julia Ham (Hampton Swim School) Some parents choose to delay the commencement of their child’s swimming education, believing that their backyard pool plays a more important role in aquatic development than structured lessons. BUT WAIT, in 2009 alone in Australia over 50 children between the ages of 0-17 years died by drowning, with many more near-drowning incidents and accidents occurring around the pool or beach. As previously reported, many of these children were left unsupervised, so it's easy to see why swim lessons sooner rather than later provide an additional barrier against drowning. Safety aside, swimming is a great form of exercise and, as well as being fun, it promotes time with the family and opens the door to many water sports such as water polo, sailing and nippers. The most common question asked by prospective parents of children of Hampton Swim School is, “when is the best time to start swimming?” Opinions on this topic vary. Given Qld’s lifestyle, the likelihood that a child will be...

Some parents choose to delay the commencement of their child’s swimming education, believing that their backyard pool plays a more important role in aquatic development than structured lessons.

BUT WAIT, in 2009 alone in Australia over 50 children between the ages of 0-17 years died by drowning, with many more near-drowning incidents and accidents occurring around the pool or beach. As previously reported, many of these children were left unsupervised, so it's easy to see why swim lessons sooner rather than later provide an additional barrier against drowning. Safety aside, swimming is a great form of exercise and, as well as being fun, it promotes time with the family and opens the door to many water sports such as water polo, sailing and nippers....

There are plenty of wonderful reasons to teach your child to swim, and being part of that process can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences a parent can have with their child. Swimming encourages fun and learning, and helps a child develop confidence and a positive self- image. Research has shown that early swimmers perform better both socially and academically and that swimming from an early age enhances not only gross motor skill development and coordination but also the personality development of a child...so swimming...

The physical benefits for children of swimming at all levels, from birth through to competitive swimming, are numerous and well known. Less well known perhaps, is that swimming serves as a wonderful aid to the development of the social skills and behaviours of the child. Infant, toddler and pre-school swim classes provide the child with an early introduction to learning to follow instructions, and to the concepts of sharing, turn-taking and structured learning. Swim classes also promote social interaction between participants and, through structured play during which the child learns appropriate behaviours (both right and wrong) through listening to instructions and watching others, they provide a vehicle for nurturing and enhance the social and cognitive development of the child. At the primary school age level, the social skills acquired through early swim classes are able to be refined and further developed. Children who become team-mates in a mini or junior swimming squad are able to enjoy a group environment...

Expectant mothers often remark about the feeling of comfort evoked by immersion in water during their pregnancy. The sense of weightlessness provided by water relieves the general discomforts associated with pregnancy, and it is the perfect environment for a mother-to-be to both relax and exercise. Water-based exercise is the ideal form of exercise for an expectant mother. The buoyancy of water supports up to 90% of body weight which means that those extra kilograms added during pregnancy have much less impact on an expectant mother’s capacity to exercise. Water supports the joints and ligaments and, particularly in comparison to other common land-based forms of exercise, this translates to reduced risk of injury. Swimming and other aquatic activities serve as an ideal form of exercise from not only the standpoint of the health of the pregnant woman themselves, but also the well being of the unborn child. The cardiovascular benefits of swimming include an increased capacity to process and use oxygen (which is...

There are plenty of wonderful reasons to teach your child to learn to swim, and being part of that process can be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences a parent can have with their child. Swimming encourages fun and learning, and helps a child develop confidence and a positive self- image. Research has shown that early swimmers perform better both socially and academically, and that swimming from an early age enhances not only gross motor skill development and coordination, but also the personality development of a child...so swimming contributes to the happiness, health, and development of the “whole” child!...