[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”3606″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text align=”left”]Aside of being beneficial for safety reasons, knowing how to swim is also good for your child’s health. Swimming is a fundamental skill and preparing your children accordingly is highly recommended. Most children are ready for lessons by age 4, but it’s never too late to start!
Here are our top 3 reasons to enroll your child in swim lessons :
1. IT HELPS KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE
A recent Red Cross survey found that, in the U.S, more than half of children ages 4 to 17 were not competent swimmers. Being a competent swimmer is an essential life skill and the Red Cross advocates that all children take swim lessons – at least for safety reasons. It’s important to make sure your child is well prepared when they’re around water, especially when living near the coast.
2. IT’S A FUN WAY TO STAY FIT
While recreational swimming can feel more like play rather than exercise, swimming is a great way to stay fit at any age.
The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) developed a Youth Compendium of Physical Activities to measure the metabolic rate of nearly 200 typical childhood activities. This information is used by health professionals to determine which activities are most helpful in preventing childhood obesity, a problem that has more than tripled in the U.S. since the 1970s.
The compendium lists “swimming at a self-selected pace” as one of the higher scoring activities with a METy number between 7.0 – 9.5, depending on the age of the child. Surprisingly, this is a significantly higher score than “riding a bike at a self-selected pace” (4.4-7.0) or “taking a gymnastics class” (4.3 – 4.7).
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange”][vc_column_text]“WHAT IS METy?”
METy is the ratio of a child’s active metabolic rate compared to the estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR), or the energy a body needs to function at rest. For instance, playing volleyball has a METy value of 5.0 for children who are 6 to 9 years old. In other words, children in this age range expend 5x more energy playing volleyball than they do when they are resting.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”orange”][vc_column_text]3. IT HELPS KIDS DO BETTER IN SCHOOL
Did you know that there’s a correlation between knowing how to swim and elevated math and literacy skills? A three-year study of 7,000 American, Australian, and New Zealand children under the age of 5 found that those who were proficient swimmers also demonstrated a range of math and reading skills much earlier than those who were not.
[/vc_column_text][rs_blockquote cite=”stated Professor Robyn Jorgensen of the Griffith Institute for Educational Research.”]”As well as achieving physical milestones faster, children also scored significantly better in visual-motor skills such as cutting paper, coloring in and drawing lines and shapes, and many mathematically-related tasks”.[/rs_blockquote][rs_space height=”25px”][vc_single_image image=”3625″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]READY TO SIGN UP YOUR CHILD FOR SWIM LESSONS?
At Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club, we’re able to offer swim lessons year-round thanks to Goleta’s temperate climate, and for colder days, our heated pools are sure to keep swimmers warm. Each 30 minute private swim lesson is customized to your child’s abilities and is taught by one of our highly qualified instructors. They use backgrounds in competitive swimming, water polo, or triathlons to teach proper stroke technique and water safety skills for all levels.
Swim lessons are available Mondays through Saturdays as once weekly standing appointments with a private instructor.
For any questions about swim lessons, pricing, or to sign up your child, please contact our General Manager Eric Geeb at eric.geeb@swellclubs.com or at 805.964.7762.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]