There is no shortage of activities and sports for kids. (Well, maybe not so much right now with a worldwide pandemic going down, but in better, normal and pre-Covid days.)
Choosing the right sport(s) for your kids ultimately comes down to the options available to you and your child.
But when it comes to the whole package for developing physically, mentally and emotionally strong young people, my go-to is competitive swimming.
(Yes, I’m a little biased… I’m a lifelong competitive swimmer.)
Here is why you should consider competitive swimming for your child.
Swimming is a sport and a life skill.
According to the CDC, an average of 3,500 Americans die each year because of drowning, with one in five of those being children. With every one of those children there is another five who get sent to the hospital because of near-drowning.
Learning how to swim is something all children should learn so that they can hang out and play safely near and on the water, whether that is the backyard above ground pool, the lake, or the local aquatic center.
Being proficient in the water is handy for more than exercise and developing those famed swimmer shouldersit can help save a life.
A sport they can do for life.
How far your child will go with the sport is ultimately up to them. For some, swimming on the high school is good enough (the camaraderie and group setting is a lot of fun!), others will use swimming as a ticket for a college scholarship, and a select few will take their swimming all the way to the highest levels, at the once-every-four year spectacle known as the Olympics.
Pound for pound one of the healthiest activities they can do.
The health benefits of swimming are almost endless. The low-impact nature of the activity means you avoid a lot of the acute injuries that come with high-impact sports and activities like football, running or basketball. Swimmers develop tremendous lung capacity due to the need to be able to manage and conserve their breathing while in the water.
And because swimming is a full-body exercise, they are working out their arms, shoulders, legs, hips, back and everything else in between.
They get a break from their smartphones, social media and external distractions.
One of my favorite things about swimming is that for an hour or two each day, my brain gets a break from all the external noise and stuff that is going on. In the water notifications, social media feeds, memes, newsnone of them can yank and pull at my concentration and attention.
In a world that is growing more and more connected, the ability to focus and go deep with concentration is becoming more vital than ever.
When your child is swimming up and down the length of the pool, they will get a mental reprieve. A chance to be alone with their thoughts. Strictly from personal experience, I have found that my mood has always been boosted after a swim.
Not just because I had a good workout, but because for an hour or two nobody and nothing was tugging on the most precious resource I havemy attention.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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