Yes, swimming is synonymous with summer in Southeast Queensland. But swimming for your little one shouldn’t just be about splashing, playing, and cooling down on a hot, summer’s day.   

Continuing with swimming lessons as the months turn cooler and the days shorter is just as important, even with competing recreational activities vying for your spare time and budget. The risks posed by drowning do not go away in the cooler months, and neither should the lessons, especially when indoor pools are available.   

Not only is swimming a skill for life that benefits children mentally and physically, but it is the only sport that can save their lives. Fun fact!   

Children reap many rewards from taking swimming lessons all year-round.  

Safety and drowning prevention     

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children under five in Australia. Keeping your child’s swimming skills sharp by taking lessons year-round is one of the best actions you can take to prevent drowning, and will help your child develop into a strong, confident swimmer. Although lessons are never a substitute for parental supervision, they play a crucial role in building layers of protection for young children. These skills and behaviours need to be constantly reinforced throughout the year.   

Continuing lessons is important for building and reinforcing skills          

This is especially the case with children under five whose long-term skill retention and muscle memory are just beginning to develop. A break in lessons that stretches over many months will often result in a loss of skills. Even if parents don’t believe they can see development and progress in class, the child is at least maintaining their current ability level, and that is progress within itself.  

Keeping fit in the cooler months              

Swimming indoors in winter helps keep kids active when it’s too cold to play outdoors. Staying active keeps kids engaged and healthy and can even boost their immune systems. Establishing a routine of fitness for our little ones, especially considering our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, is imperative.

Exercise all-year-round with minimal injury             

Swimming is one of the best activities for all-round good health, with minimal risk of injury. It’s a low-impact, aerobic exercise, strengthening the heart and lungs while the water helps take the stress off the joints. Kids are much less likely to injure themselves in the water. With infants, there’s the added benefit of enhancing and stimulating their general development.   

All-year-round bonding            

Parents involved in lessons in the water with their children benefit from close physical contact and quality time together, which helps to strengthen the natural bond, like no other environment. Why confine this level of bonding only to the summer months? Especially when an indoor pool is available?  

Increased confidence             

Constant exposure to water, the whole year through, helps children become confident with water play, while large gaps of time between lessons – or no lessons at all – can allow a fear of water to develop. Swimming lessons offer a unique combination of social and physical interactions with the teacher, their classmates, and the aquatic environment. For some children, before starting school, these relationships can become their primary social bonds outside of the home and immediate family. It's important to maintain these bonds with regular attendance.   

Stronger social skills             

Swimming helps teach children how to take turns, listen, share, and cooperate. Studies show that young children who took regular swim lessons could adapt to new social situations easier because they had more confidence in social settings.   

The Swim Factory proudly offers indoor, heated pools, all-year-round, so even when it’s a little cooler outside, your little one can still be warm and cosy in the pool.   

The benefits of swimming go far beyond summer fun and can set your child on the path to success in and out of the water.  

Are you looking for swimming lessons for your children? We love teaching kids to swim across Ipswich, Springfield, Yamanto, Ripley and the wider region. We've been trusted for over 30 years.