The Benefits of Swimming Lessons for Kids & Parents

Today’s guest post is from Kaitlin Gardner, who owns the blog, An Apple Per Day.

When my kids are at the pool, I want them to be well prepared to enjoy themselves and be safe at the same time. So I have made a commitment to enroll them in swim lessons when they are old enough. While the lessons teach my kids to swim, there are benefits to me as a parent as well.

Teaching them a lifetime skill. My family enjoys the water. We plan to take beach vacations, we’d like to have a home with a back yard pool some day, and there will be a lot of opportunities for my kids to be around the water. When the boys know how to swim properly and safely, I feel a sense of accomplishment as a parent – I have prepared them well with an important life skill. Once they grow up, they’ll always be my kids, and when I hear about them going on a vacation around the water, I know they will be ready to handle it.

Here are some more resources with great information about swim lessons and kids:

• Swim Lesson Plans
• Why Is It Important to Know How To Swim?
• How To Teach A Petrified Kid Not To Be Afraid Of Water

My confidence is greater. I can relax more when we take the boys to the community pool, knowing they have been properly taught how to swim. I will still watch them and supervise them properly, but there is a sense of confidence that I get from watching them safely enjoy the water. When I see other kids at the pool run and do things that are dangerous, and see my boys obey the safety rules that they were taught in swim class, that’s just a good feeling. Once in a while they’re tempted to join in the enthusiasm, but I watch them look over at me, sheepishly smile, and walk to the diving board. It just makes me smile to see that.

It’s all about safety. There are just risks that we have to be aware of when around the water, so a focus on safety has been very important. When my boys took their swim lessons, I didn’t just drop them off at the pool and go shopping. I watched their lessons, and afterward, had them tell me what they learned. If it was a safety lesson like “never swim alone,” I had them tell me why that was important. I wanted to reinforce what they were learning, to make sure they retained well what they had been taught. Safety is a big component of the water experience, and I felt better knowing they were well schooled in that part of lessons.

Bonding with the kids. It’s just a reality that kids grow up really quickly. I’ll take any chance I can to bond with my boys. Watching them learn to swim is a time when I can share in their lives. When one of my boys comes out of a lesson, I’m thrilled to share with him the excitement of that first dive from the board, or the new stroke he just learned. I see the pleasure they have even learning how to swim, and that is a great feeling. All too quickly they will be asking to borrow the car for a date, so I want to share in each step along the way.

Success as a parent. It is rewarding to see my child take those growing steps, and it benefits me to watch – I feel like I have just been a part of raising a well balanced child. I’ve not only gotten him to school every day, but I’ve helped him develop life skills when I signed him up for swim lessons. There’s a real sense of satisfaction in that.

Watching my boys learn new skills in swim lessons warms my heart, and just makes me smile.

Editor’s Note: So what do swimming lessons for your kids and Family Balance Sheet have to do with one another? My husband and I feel strongly about swim safety and both girls started swim lessons at an early age. My husband is a former lifeguard trainer and once a lifeguard, always a lifeguard. He did a save on our honeymoon! Anyway, last summer as my kids and I were swimming one evening at our local pool, we witnessed a near drowning of a child probably about the age of 10. He jumped into the very deep end without realizing that he couldn’t touch. Thankfully, the lifeguards were able to reach him in time and it ended well, but it was clearly a traumatic event for him and his mother. My kids talked about that event for weeks. Please, to help prevent accidents and drownings, consider swimming lessons for your children. ~ Kristia

Kaitlin Gardner started An Apple Per Day to explore her passion for a green living lifestyle, and healthy family living. She and her husband have just moved to rural Pennsylvania, where they enjoy exploring the countryside to discover interesting and out of the way places. She is also learning how to paint watercolors.

photo credit

Linked to: Thrifty Thursday.