Community Spotlight " Water Safety"
Benefits of Year-Round Swim Lessons
Everyone knows that swimming is tons of fun. But do you know about all of the other benefits? First things first, at Goldfish Swim School, we know how important it is to stay in the pool all year long which is why we offer perpetual lessons instead of sessions. Perpetual lessons give your children the best opportunity to gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed and be safer in the water. Each student can learn at his or her own pace, whether it takes one month or six, allowing them to move up when they are ready. Plus, students who start and stop lessons are more likely to lose those skills when they return to the pool.
Don’t just take my word for it, though, studies have proven that staying in swim lessons has benefits far beyond reducing the risk of drowning by 88 percent (as if that isn’t reason enough!). Not only does swimming benefit children physically, it also improves their development both intellectually and emotionally. According to scientific studies performed at the German Sports College Cologne, kids who swim year-round fared better academically, particularly in problem-solving skills. The swimmers also displayed more self-discipline and had more self-esteem, which made them more comfortable in social situations. This makes sense since during swim lessons, children cooperate within a social structure and learn by observing and mimicking. They learn to take turns, share and follow instructions.
On top of helping with social confidence, recent studies have also shown that the amount of movement and exercise an individual receives affects the size and memory capacity of the hippocampus – that’s the area primarily associated with memory and learning. In babies especially, brain development occurs through bilateral cross patterning movements (think swimming, crawling and walking). The more cross patterning movements, the more nerve fibers develop in the corpus callosum – the part of the brain that facilitates communication, feedback and modulation from one side of the brain to the other. These movements can result in heightened cognition and increased ease of learning.
Kids learn A LOT through touch and the texture of different objects — which is known as tactile sensory development. Research by Dr. Ruth Rice determined that babies make “significant gains in neurological development, weight gain and mental development” from the tactile stimulation of the nerve pathways of the skin — and swimming in water (which has over 600 times the resistance of air) certainly covers that!
These are all amazing benefits that you want your kids to enjoy, but what about them? They just want to have FUN! Don’t worry, we’ve got that covered, too. Swimmers develop life-long friendships at Goldfish and look forward to seeing their swim friends at class each week. Plus, as warm weather is starting to slip away, so are summer evenings of climbing trees, running through the yard, pool trips and many other fun physical activities. Ensuring your children get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day gets more challenging. Our fun, tropical environment and 90-degree pool ensures that infants and children are comfortable, which allows them to focus on what matters most: having fun while building lifelong water safety skills.
With a curriculum focused on water safety and building confidence, children ages four months to 12 years old are encouraged and rewarded each week. Our instructors are tasked with not only teaching children to swim and to be safer, but they’re also empowered to provide a fun, playful experience to ensure the children want to come to swim lessons.
We offer the convenience of private changing rooms and our facilities are even equipped with hair drying stations to ensure little ones are ready to re-enter the cold after their lessons. You really have to experience Goldfish Swim School to understand the Golden Difference and experience all of the benefits of year-round swim lessons.
At Goldfish, we believe that every child should know the basics of water safety (all year long, of course!). That’s why we developed a special 20-minute W.A.T.E.R. Safety Program that we offer to young children at schools, daycare centers and throughout the community for FREE. (Yes, you read that correctly, I said free!) We take Goldfish on the road with an entertaining, information-packed presentation featuring everyone’s favorite mascot, Bubbles! Our interactive program is a fun and structured lesson that is great for students between the ages of three and seven-years-old. We focus on introducing kids to the concept of water safety and helping them learn methods to avoid potential dangers in and around the water. In addition, we provide materials and information to all kids that attend in an effort to help prevent water-related accidents. If you would to schedule a visit from Bubbles and our team, please email us at swimpittsburghnorth@goldfishss.com or swimpittsburghsouth@goldfishss.com
The water can (and should) be a place for family fun. But keep in mind that accidents can happen quickly. Constant supervision and basic water safety skills will make for a safer summer (and fall, winter and spring!) for everyone.
