What are the benefits of children’s swimming and how to start children in the sport?

kenry john June 30, 2022

0 308 12 minutes read

The search for health and quality of life has made more and more parents worry about introducing physical activities into their children’s routine. Children ‘s swimming is a sport that is very much remembered when choosing with Lifeguard training near me.

Not by chance, almost all children like to be in the pool. Playing in the water makes the sport attractive, facilitating learning and training. In addition, swimming is an excellent option, as it provides numerous benefits to children.

For the class to be more productive, the teacher must know the history of the sport, the benefits it brings to children, what are the ways to introduce the little ones to the pool and, mainly, what skills the Physical Education professional needs to have to be a good teacher.

Want to know all these answers? So, read on and find out everything in this complete guide to children’s swimming!

How did swimming come about?

The displacement in the water is a movement that happens since the beginning. Humans needed to enter it to obtain food and to escape wild animals. Therefore, we can say that the act of swimming arose from a need, many, many years ago.

It is not known for sure at what period men began to swim. But there is a belief that this habit arose from the first dwellings in regions with lakes and seas. The oldest record found is the cave paintings, dating from over 7,000 years ago.

History

As we have seen, swimming has been around for millennia, and was mainly practiced in ancient Greece. Like all sports, it went through diversifications, until it reached the sport it is today.

In the past, sport was used to train young Greeks, mainly soldiers. Through swimming, they were able to improve their physical conditioning.

1. Competition

The first unofficial tests were held in London in the 19th century. The first official competition took place in Australia in 1858. Almost 30 years later, swimming became an Olympic sport, participating in the Athens Olympics in 1896, known as the first Modern Olympics. In that edition, there were three categories in dispute: 100 meters freestyle, 500 meters freestyle and 1,200 meters freestyle.

2. Swimming in Brazil

In Brazil, swimming became a sport only in 1898, when the first championship of the modality took place, at the Clube de in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, the race distance was 1,500 meters and included the crossing between the Fortress of Villegaignon and the beach of Santa Luzira.

Styles

In the first years after the emergence of swimming, there was no definition of styles and forms of swimming. Different countries adopted swims that resembled the styles known today.

The first description of the swim we know today as breaststroke is dated from 1690, and was made by the Frenchman Thevenin. The British, in turn, described swimming very close to the butterfly. The Italian Bernarda was the one who presented the swim that was later evolved to reach the backstroke. Finally, the crawl style was presented by Australian Richard Cavil.

See below how each of the styles is currently defined.

1. Freestyle

In freestyle competitions, athletes usually swim crawl, as they are the fastest. Swimming is characterized by the constant movement of the legs and feet, up and down, in addition to the alternation of rotation of the arms. It is not allowed to have the body completely submerged.

2. Backstroke

The backstroke is the only one in which athletes start from the water. In it, the swimmer must have his back to the bottom of the pool. The lower limbs perform a thrusting action, with the feet moving up and down. The arms perform alternating backward rotation movements.

3. breaststroke

The chest is slower style. In it, the arms and legs need to be in tune, performing simultaneous movements. After the end of the stroke, the head should emerge, remaining a few seconds out of the water before the cycle restarts.

4. Butterfly or dolphin swim

The butterfly stroke is considered one of the most difficult due to the complexity of its movement. The swimmer must rotate the arms forward at the same time. Meanwhile, the rest of the body makes undulating movements with simultaneous actions.

Main rules

The objective of the swimming events is that the athlete can complete it in the shortest time possible. Next, we separate the main rules of the modality. Check out!

1. Swimming pool

In Olympic games, the standard size of the pool must be 50 meters long by 25 meters wide. International competitions usually use short pools, 25 meters long and 20 meters wide.

Pools should be divided into lanes, with floating markings. The width of the lane varies, being 2.5 meters in Olympic pools, and 2 meters in short ones. The total number of lanes must be 10, 8 for competitors plus 2 additional free hits on each side. In addition, the water temperature needs to vary between 25° and 27°C.

2. Exam preparation

Before the race, all competitors must position themselves by the pool, on the platforms. The exception is only in the backstroke style, in which the exit takes place in the water. After the swimmers have prepared, permission is given for the race to begin, by means of an audible warning. The athlete who burns the start can be disqualified from the race.

After the start, the swimmer can swim underwater only for the first 15 meters. To guide competitors, the pool has markings to indicate the 15 meter line.

3. Types of evidence

Swimming events can be played individually or in relays. Individual swimmers can compete in different styles, namely: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, free (crawl) and medley. The distance to be covered varies between 50 and 1,500 meters, and can be, in addition to the two, 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters.

In the medley events, the swimmer must perform the four strokes, starting with the butterfly, followed by the backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Distances vary between 200 m (50 m each) or 400 m (100 m each).

In the relay, the team is composed of 4 competitors. The competition can be in medley format or freestyle. In the medley, each swimmer performs one of the styles, and the sequence is: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.

What are the benefits of swimming for children?

In addition to being one of the most complete sports because it uses almost all the muscles of the human body, swimming can also be fun and attractive for children. There are several benefits of initiating children in this practice. Below, we separate some for you to know.

1. Improves breathing capacity

One of the main advantages of introducing a child to swimming is related to the improvement of respiratory capacity, especially for those who are asthmatic or have bronchitis.

When a child moves in the water, their gestures need to be controlled and aligned with their breathing. In addition, when the arms move, they move the rib cage, strengthening the abdominal muscles and favoring deep breathing.
Another point that helps to improve breathing capacity in the pool is related to the density of the aquatic environment, which is much denser than air. This makes the muscles involved in breathing more demanded in swimming. That is, for the body to be able to move in water, the respiratory muscles need to exert more force than on land.

The consequence of this scenario is that the lungs have increased work and the bronchi are dilated. All these aspects ultimately trigger an increase in respiratory capacity.

2. Develops motor coordination

Children’s swimming helps the child to develop motor coordination. This is very important, because it is at this stage that the human being learns most of the motor gestures that he will reproduce throughout his life. The greater this baggage, the more advantageous it will be to perform everyday activities that require balance, coordination and, above all, to practice some sport.

One of the great contributions of swimming in child development is that, in an aquatic environment, children can perform three-dimensional movements. What’s more, they don’t feel the weight of gravity, don’t have barriers preventing movement, and have a much lower risk of getting injured in some activity. The possibility of exploration and experimentation, therefore, is greater.

3. Increases physical endurance

Regular training contributes to the balance of metabolism and increases the physical resistance of the child. This is positive, as the chances of her becoming a sedentary adult decrease. Even those who are overweight and, perhaps, have some difficulty playing and accompanying friends can increase their physical resistance through swimming.

4. Stimulates a more peaceful sleep

Water activities usually demand more energy from the body, which increases children’s fatigue. In addition, water, especially if it is warm, provides a feeling of relaxation, which also encourages a more peaceful night’s sleep.

5. Boosts your appetite

The energy spent in the water needs to be replaced somehow, right? This is one of the benefits of swimming. Children are often hungry after class. For little ones who don’t eat much, this is a good time to replenish vitamins.

6. Health benefits of swimming

If this occurs, these children can take advantage of many advantages that are attributed to swimming and enjoyed, more usually, in adulthood. See some:

Increased longevity;
Better posture;
Improvement in physical conditioning;
Cholesterol control;
Reduced risk of developing diabetes;
Increased body flexibility;
Reduced risk of developing arthritis;
Development of cardiorespiratory activity, strengthening the heart;
Reduction of allergies as a result of the pool being a hot and humid environment.

How to start children in sport?

Initiating children in swimming is a much discussed and complex topic. A good professional needs to be aware of this information. Check out what we have for you below!

Age

When the child is not yet born, it lives in an aquatic environment, in the mother’s belly. Not losing the memory of the uterine environment is the justification for those who defend that babies can start at 3 months of age, right after completing the vaccines.

Despite this, it is very difficult to find a swimming pool that accepts children of this age, as the risks of contracting some disease or infection are high, due to the incomplete formation of the immune system.

Class divisions by age

Children ‘s swimming class , like all sports, cannot be the same for all age groups. After all, the child goes through different stages of learning. Check out a good idea of division in a children’s swimming school:

3 months to 6 years: aquatic environment;
7 to 13 years: learning of swimming techniques;
over 13 years: participation in swimming teams and pre-teams, aiming at competition.

Frequency

The recommended frequency is 2 to 3 times a week. The smaller the child, the shorter the class time. For babies, for example, the recommended duration is from 30 to 45 minutes at most.

Initial techniques

In addition to being able to keep the little ones away from classes, there is a high incidence of injury in children who start competitive swimming before the age of 12.

Therefore, the initial techniques should forget a little about competition and perfect swimming, and focus more on the child’s learning and experience in the pool. From the age of 7, it is possible to start adding swimming lessons. Here are some ways to introduce swimming into a child’s life.

1. Start in shallow water

Children should always visit the pool in a place where they feel safe. Therefore, it is not recommended to use a pool with a great depth. Ideally, there should be some point in the pool where the child can stand up, without the whole body being submerged.

2. Teach leg movement

The child is used to a terrestrial environment, in which his legs move in a certain way, so that he can move around. In the pool, obviously, that changes.

By learning this, the child can feel safer to carry out the next tasks and be able to move inside the pool.

3. Train your breathing

The games are excellent proposals to train children’s breathing in the pool. Asking them to make bubbles underwater, in a slow, medium and fast way, can be the beginning of the stimulus for them to start diving without having to “cover their nose”, for example.

4. Stimulating confidence in the child

The child may be afraid of water for several reasons: past experiences, family attitude, lack of trust in the teacher, peer pressure, etc.

By solving this problem, it becomes easier to get the child’s trust. Other ways to build trust are by encouraging, praising, gently reprimanding, and friendly joking.

What are the essential skills for a children’s swimming teacher?

Unlike team sports , which are similar to each other, teaching swimming requires a little more attention from the teacher.

To help with lessons, we have prepared this topic, in which we will show you the essential skills of a good swimming teacher. Here we go!

1. Technical knowledge of the sport

First, the professional must have knowledge of the sport. In other words, the physical educator must be able to observe a child swimming and know exactly what he is doing right and wrong and, mainly, why he is performing a gesture in an inefficient way.

This perception must happen even in the early years, when children have their first contact with water and most of the classes are based on the principle of playfulness and play. This is because, if the child automatizes any gesture in the wrong way, later on, it becomes much more difficult for him to reproduce it correctly.

2. Be patient

The teacher must be a patient person, able to organize the class, making the class flow naturally. The constant loss of patience in the classes can make the students not feel comfortable and stop doing the practice.

3. Creativity

Diversification of classes is the key to success when it comes to children. The teacher needs to be creative and vary the exercises, without forgetting the objective of carrying out each activity.

A great tip is to use variations on the same task. In this way, all students can participate, from the most difficult to the most experienced. To achieve this, the physical educator has to structure the classes very well and make the most of their creativity.

4. Good interpersonal communication

The didactics of the teacher is very important when starting children in the sport. It is useless for a physical educator to be the best swimmer if he cannot teach this to others.

The good teacher is not the one who is the best in the activity, but the one who manages to make the students understand and perform the task in the best possible way. That’s why interpersonal communication is so important.

When we talk about children, this communication must be accompanied by their understanding. That is, the teacher should not use technical terms at all times. The cool thing would be to merge these terms, with words and examples that are part of the daily life of the little ones.

5. Affinity with children

This tip is perhaps the most relevant: a children ‘s swimming teacher needs to really like and have an affinity with children. In addition, he must make an effort to insert himself in the children’s world, being aware of subjects related to the child’s routine, such as drawings, music and movies.

6. Always be up to date

We can relate the last skill to a task that the teacher must constantly perform: the search for updating and knowledge. Technologies change rapidly, as do teaching techniques, available objects, etc.

If a professor teaches the same classes for a few semesters in a row, without any changes, he is certainly failing to add some novelty and improvement in teaching.

For those who have already graduated, the best way to keep up to date is through courses . Currently, online courses have been in high demand, as they can easily fit into each one’s schedule. So, look for one that fits what you want to learn. It’s just not worth not to seek knowledge, right?

The introduction of sports in childhood is extremely important so that children can become healthy adults, with good motor skills and less likely to develop chronic diseases.

Children’s swimming, as we have seen, is an excellent option of modality and very chosen by parents, especially babies. Therefore, it is an excellent market opportunity for all physical educators.

Our goal at the end of this post is that you, who have come this far, can successfully carry out this mission of teaching children’s swimming!

So, did you like our guide on children’s swimming? If you want to know more about sports and topics related to swimming, subscribe to our newsletter and stay in the loop!

What are the benefits of children’s swimming and how to start children in the sport?
The search for health and quality of life has made more and more parents worry about introducing physical activities into their children’s routine. Children ‘s swimming is a sport that is very much remembered when choosing.