“Building Skills, Confidence, and Health: The Essential Benefits of Swimming for Children”

p>Swimming is without a doubt the most effective type of exercise for people of all ages in terms of keeping them emotionally and physically fit. Greetings wonderful people, I am Shiuli- the Sports Teacher (Swimming) here at Oakridge International School, Mohali.

I usually come across questions like how it is like to swim; what is the impact of swimming on a child’s growth; why swimming should be an integral part of growing up?

I believe student life is the best part of a person’s life cycle because it is during this time that they develop their character and other routines. It is the age when learning a new skill is simple and requires little effort. So, rather than putting it off until later, why not start learning to swim in school?

I have observed that most children find learning to swim to be a little frightening at first. When they overcome this and begin to learn the sport, they are receiving internal training in how to overcome their fears and face life more optimistically.

Even I was in the same league of students in my childhood days. Growing up I thought of overcoming this fear by pushing myself to learn this art. To date, I am proud and grateful for the decision I took that day.

From my years’ long experience in the field of swimming, here are 5 reasons why learning swimming should be an integral part of growing up:

1. Ample future Opportunities: Learning to swim is beneficial to your child’s health, enjoyment, and self-confidence. Learning to swim also allows the child to participate in a variety of other activities such as kayaking, canoeing, scuba diving, surfing, triathlons, and yachting.
2. A healthy body and balanced mind: Swimming keeps a child’s heart and lungs healthy, improves strength and flexibility, increases stamina, and even improves balance and posture, and even concentration and memory. Over the years, I have observed that swimming improves one’s mood instantly, and this fact is also supported by researches of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Health.
3. Readiness for life: I believe teaching young children to swim instills in them the ability to endure in the face of adversity and multitask, and swimming is one such life-saving sport, which can come to the rescue in unfortunate situations like storm floods, accidental drowning, etc. Swimming can assist youngsters in developing situational awareness and awareness of their environment.
4. Builds Team spirit: Swimming as part of the school curriculum encourages children to participate in team activities and socialize at an early age. It teaches students how to interact with others and work in groups. This makes it easier for them to make friends and negotiate group tasks in higher classes. The earlier a youngster begins swimming lessons, the better his or her social skills and academic performance will be.
5. Time Management: This is one of the most important talents a student needs to have to succeed in school, and it is something that can be learned through competitive swimming. This sports activity teaches students how to take little breaks in between activities and how to make the most of those breaks when they return to the activity. By balancing academic study and swimming practice, youngsters can learn the value of time management from an early age. Dividing and managing one’s time to complete tasks is a vital skill that can be learned considerably more readily than any other sport.

Finding a swimming facility and a trainer can be tough at times, but having it at the school itself is the best, you could wish for. Being one of the best International schools in Mohali, Oakridge offers professional swimming training to the students. I am proud to be serving as a Swimming trainer at Oakridge International School, Mohali for the last 5 years.

We are all set to celebrate summers in full glory. This year let’s resolve to learn the beautiful live-saving art of swimming. Approximately 3/4th of Earth is composed of water, thus mother nature also indicates the importance of water.

Let’s start swimming! 

Thoughts by:

Shiuli Chowdhury

Sports Teacher (Swimming)

Oakridge International School, Mohali