“Why Swimming is great for a child’s mental health and development”

By Adam Knight Zoggs' Learn to swim ambassador 

It’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness week and we know that swimming is not just a life-saving skill. It can also be a powerful catalyst for a child’s development, and offers a wealth of incredible physical, emotional, and social benefits.

When a baby or child swims consistently they improve their muscle strength, tone, and stamina, as every muscle in the body is engaged. Swimming will strengthen your child’s heart and lungs as it uses the respiratory and cardiovascular system. It’s also proven to increase co-ordination and enhance your child’s fine and gross motor skills, which are transferrable to a plethora of other sports and physical activities.

In terms of mental health, swimming stands head and shoulders above all other sports in my opinion. There is something extremely therapeutic about the water that stimulates all the senses. It has the power to transform people’s moods not just in the short term but in the long term as well.

Post swim your child’s brain will release natural “feel good” chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. This biological response coupled with the psychological factor of improved confidence and self-esteem will result in a happier and healthier child.

For children and all ages swimming can reduce anxiety and symptoms of depression. For those with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disabilities the water provides a unique opportunity for self-expression and emotional regulation. Some children with ASD are non-verbal, so the sight, sound and touch of the water gifts them the opportunity to express themselves through movement, feeling weightless and when underwater they are liberated from the noise and overstimulation of the outside world.

When conducting research on teaching swimming in Australia, I spent some time with Laurie Lawrence, who shared with me the landmark Griffith University study.

Griffith University Study 2013:

Researchers surveyed parents of 7000 children aged five years old and under from Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Lead researcher Professor Robyn Jorgensen said swimming children were anywhere from 6 to 15 months ahead of the normal population when it came to cognitive skills, problem solving in mathematics, counting, language and following instructions.

On average, the swimming children were:

Eleven months ahead of the normal population in Oral Expression

Six months ahead in Mathematical Reasoning

Two months ahead in Brief Reading.

As well as achieving physical milestones faster, they also scored significantly higher in visual-motor skills. Furthermore, they were a staggering 17 months ahead in Story Recall & 20 months in Understanding Instructions.

Swimming is great for a child’s mental health as it advances them physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. These factors will lead to higher self-esteem as well as your little one learning a life-saving skill. If you would like your little one to grow physically stronger, increase their intellectual capacity, make friends and boost their confidence and sense of self-worth, enroll them in swim lessons today!