Should Swimmers Continue Swimming in the Fall & Winter Months?

Summer is over, and it is very typical for families to place swim lessons on pause to focus on soccer, football, gymnastics, or piano lessons during the fall and winter season. However, before you pack away the swimsuits, consider these four great reasons why swim lessons are fit for every season, not just for the summer months!

1. Pool Safety

Young swimmers who take a break during the fall and winter months not only lose the swimming skills they built over the summer, but crucial water and safety skills. These skills can only be reinforced through practice and repetition in order to stay in a child’s long-term memory. When faced with a life-threatening situation, it is more likely for a child who has stopped lessons to forget what to do. Drowning knows no season.

2. Skill Progression

In order for students to retain swimming skills and progress further to more advanced skills, they must “practice, practice, & practice.” We’ve all heard the term, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” For very young swimmers, a long time away from the pool between summers can mean taking a big step backward in their development and swimming technique. At Texas Swim Academy, all of our programs are offered all year long, including our stroke development, group, and pre-competition swim programs.

3. Healthy Bodies

One misconception about swimming in the colder months is that the combination of water and cold weather can bring cold, flus, and infections. The truth is that children who spend the fall and winter months swimming are not susceptible to more illnesses. Our indoor pool is heated and the building is warm and humid, which keeps our swimmers’ natural defenses against infections strong. Research has shown that physical activity such as swimming can keep lungs clear of mucus, reducing any proneness to respiratory issues. What’s more, swimming can increase appetite, and improve sleep patterns, which can strengthen a child’s immunities to fight against winter illnesses.

4. Healthy Minds

Finally, swimming can increase mood, brain development and provide a social outlet for children during the winter months, a time when there are reduced opportunities for recreation and socialization. According to a Griffith Institute study, swimming all year long not only helps children build up his swimming and water safety skills, but accelerates the development of visual-motor skills, verbal and cognitive skills. This includes vital skills such as memorization, focus, and problem solving. The study concluded that language development, confidence, physical development were all achieved sooner in swimming children.

For more information on our swimming programs, please visit our programs page.