There are surprising benefits to year-round swim lessons. As the weather turns cooler and summer ends, keep ’em swimming! It can make their learning easier.
Research out of Australia (https://app.griffith.edu.au/news/2013/08/13/swimming-a-smart-move-for-children/shows) proves that children, who were taught to swim by 5 years, had statistically higher IQs.
Turns out, some of what you learn in the classroom (or in your day-to-day experiences) is similar to what you learn in a pool, says lead study author Robyn Jorgensen, Ph.D. is a professor and senior fellow at the Griffith Institute for Educational Research.
SWIMkids USA http://www.swimkidsaz.com provided data for this highly regarded study. Called the Early Years Swimming Research Project, it included date with 45-swim schools across the globe. Researchers surveyed the parents of more than 7,000 children age 5 and under and found that the age kids learned to swim correlated with when they began accomplishing certain skills.
5-Reasons to Swim for Smarts!
- Jorgensen’s study found, the earlier the child started and the longer they remained in the swimming lessons, the greater the gains.
- Kids who are taught to swim at an early age hit certain physical and developmental milestones faster than kids who learn later in life.
- In pre-school, early swimmers had better visual-motor skills (like cutting paper and drawing lines and shapes), but also fared better as they got older (i.e. understanding directions, math, and writing and reading skills).
- There’s a strong synergy between language and action with swimming that’s essential for many cognitive and motor skills as they grow older. Kids learn at an early age to hear language and make connections with their bodies (for example, counting to 10 while kicking).
- It doesn’t take long to see the effects. When researchers observed swimming lessons, they found that the kids’ eyes blinked in preparation for the ready cue — “one, two, three, go! ” — a clear sign that young kids can understand language and react accordingly even if they can’t communicate everything clearly.
From swim lessons to swim teams, let us at SWIMkids USA know how we can help you with your child’s success!
SWIMkids USA – where children love to learn.
