Winter has officially arrived in Auckland.
As we head into June, sunny evenings are replaced with frosty mornings and the temperature has started to drop. Puffer jackets and scarves are now staple layers and a steaming cup of coffee is almost a necessity. This tempts many families to put swimming lessons on hold, but the cold shouldn’t be a reason to halt swimming.
While juggling winter sports and diminishing motivation from the cold can be big factors, swimming during winter can provide a number of benefits for your child. Learning to swim relies on consistency and time in the water, so it’s important to attend lessons year-round.
Swimming during the winter has a number of benefits including:
- Skill acquisition and improved fitness
- Safety
- Avoid regression
- Confidence is maintained and improved
- Skill acquisition and improved fitness
Swimming is a complex motor movement that requires coordination of the entire body. For young swimmers especially, consistent lessons are vital to learning and mastering a wide range of new movements. Even a few weeks out of lessons can cause some regression for the little ones.
Swimming during the winter will help to imbed great technique, skills and fitness for children.
- Safety
When winter turns to spring and the weather warms up, kids will often return with passion to the water. Whether it’s the family pool, beach, river or lake, knowing your child can swim and survive is comforting.
This makes winter swimming extremely important, as it ensures children are competent before they let loose for another epic water-fuelled summer.
- Avoid regression
Have you ever experienced the feeling of returning to gym or exercise after a prolonged break? It’s often a little awkward, difficult and can sometimes bruise the ego. It is the same for swimming amongst children of all ages.
Swimming lessons in winter safe-guard against regression and help children progress their skill and form a foundation of fitness.
- Confidence is maintained and improved
As mentioned in the previous point, regression resulting from a break in lessons can cause skill levels to drop. When skill levels drop, confidence can often follow suit.
If taking a break from lessons is unavoidable, remember to encourage your child and praise their effort, rather than performance. They will regain their competencies, it may just take some time.
In summary, swimming in winter is fantastic for confidence, for acquiring skill and safeguarding for summer.
So let’s get ready for a fun winter of lessons!
Check out these tips for winter swimming lessons:
- Be prepared: Make sure you have a dry towel and warm clothes.
- Spend time drying: After your lesson, dry hair as much as possible or wrap up in a towel when leaving.
- Warm up from the inside out: A hot chocolate or soup are great options for warming tummies after a lesson.
- Cuddles: Good for the body and soul!
Written by Laura Quilter
lauraquilternz.com
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