The Physical and Mental Wellbeing Benefits of Baby Swimming Lessons

Did you know that swimming is proven to be one of the best forms of exercise for a child’s physical and mental wellbeing?  For babies too, attending regular baby swimming lessons helps keep them active, fit and healthy. Baby swimming lessons are proven to help babies develop physically, emotionally, mentally, intellectually and socially. Swimming also encourages healthy growth and helps with the development of strength, co-ordination and balance.

So, with this week being Children’s Mental Health Week, let’s delve deeper into all the benefits of attending structured baby swimming lessons from an early age.

First Let’s Understand why…..

The first year of a baby’s life is when the brain grows more rapidly than at any other time. All stimuli are key in terms of development at this stage. At Turtle Tots we clearly see the effects that well planned, progressive and child-centred lessons have in terms of babies and toddlers’ physical progression.

Babies who attend structured baby swimming lessons from an early age often develop a range of natural motor skills quicker. This is because swimming allows complete freedom of movement, without the effects of gravity. It’s a whole new world of movement that they cannot experience on dry land! The independence babies feel in the water also sends a huge wealth of signals to their brains, which create happy endorphins. Some lucky parents also report that their babies tend to have a far greater, relaxed sleep on the day of their baby swimming lessons.

There are so many physical, emotional, mental, psychological, and cognitive benefits to taking your little one to baby swimming lessons. And all the things we teach your baby in the water are structured to align with their key development milestones.

Physical Development

The inherent properties of water means that swimming is a low impact form of full-body exercise. It allows for your baby to move, roll and kick independently before they can even crawl or walk on land.

Baby swimming lessons also help to strengthen their little heart and lungs – in addition to their leg, arm and neck muscles.

Brain Development

The Griffith Institute for Educational Research found that children who learn to swim earlier reach major cognitive developmental milestones much earlier than their peers and non-swimmers.  This included their speech, literacy, numeracy and visual motor skills.

The boost in blood flow from baby swimming lessons can also help improve memory, mood, clarity, and focus. It can also help children to sleep better, which helps with daily stress and behaviour.

All the bouncing about stimulates their vestibular system too. This helps to develop balance and proprioception (awareness of where the body is in space).  Using toys, games and songs we encourage little ones to develop their gross and fine motor skills, while enjoying the fun, and of course learning foundational swimming movements.

Stress Relief

For mums and dads too, not only do baby swimming lessons offer a magical one-on-one bonding experience, they can also be a great stress-reliever. The endorphins released during any exercise combat the stress hormones released by the body.

Furthermore, you couldn’t be in better hands with our Turtle Tots swimming teachers because they hold the highest qualification for professional baby and preschool swimming teachers in the UK. As you can see there is lot more to baby swimming lessons than splashing about! Our teachers are not only trained to teach, but also how to understand how babies communicate in the preverbal period. This includes understanding their early brain development; the importance of early attachment and how best to support babies’ learning in this crucial early part of life.