Benefits of Swimming for Kids 2020 - Aqua-Tots Olathe Swim Lessons • COVET by tricia

Even as the weather cools down in Kansas City, my kids look forward to their swim lessons each week. I’ve shared before why we swim year round, and today I’m going to share some of the benefits of swimming for kids in 2020! Because, as we all know, this is a year unlike any other…

This post is sponsored by Aqua-Tots Swim Schools (Olathe, KS) and contains commissionable links. See the Legal page for more info.

My kids have been swimming at Aqua-Tots Swim Schools in Olathe, KS for a couple years now. They’ve always enjoyed swim lessons, but their appreciation took on a new level this year. When everything closed down, my kids missed the physical activity and social interaction! Aqua-Tots re-opened a few months ago with lots of new safety precautions to help parents feel safe about having their kids back in the water. (Read my post on going back to the pool in 2020 here!)

I get questions on these glitter shoes anytime Blair wears them! Here is a link to all the different styles.

One of the new safety precautions is more staggered class times. This means fewer kids are in the pool at once. Aqua-Tots swim lessons last 30 minutes, and my kids’ times are staggered 15 minutes apart. So Blair starts her lesson, then Colton starts his 15 minutes later. This timing means Blair gets 15 minutes to watch Colton after her lesson is over and his is finishing up, which she loves. Here she is peeking in on “Bubba” (he’s in the orange and white) to see what the big kids are doing in class.

Blair has been doing quite a bit in class herself! She moved up to Level 3 at the beginning of July, and I took the picture above in the middle of August. Look at everything she’s mastered in just about 6 weeks! She has even more stars and checkmarks now. These “Aqua Cards” are one of my favorite parts about swim lessons. I like that they provide a detailed look at everything needed to move on to the next level.

Colton is old enough to understand the concept, so he asks me before each class, “What do I need to work on today?” He’s in Level 5 right now and working hard to move up to Level 6, which is the final level. He says he wants to swim competitively next year! Level 6 is where they really start refining their strokes, so he’s excited to get to that point.

Seriously, Colton is already a better swimmer than me. I never learned anything beyond freestyle and backstroke, and I was pathetically slow at both. When I took swim lessons as a kid, we had a “meet” at the end of the season. We’d all swim in different heats or whatever (sorry, I know nothing about this on a competitive level)… and I would always be last or next to last. Then, anyone who didn’t win a ribbon during one of their million heats would swim against each other at the end. I was always in that group. And everyone in that last race got a “participation” ribbon, which was much smaller than the “real” ribbons. Whatever, I had fun in the pool, but definitely didn’t have the skill set to be a competitive swimmer.

No matter what the level, there are a lot of benefits of swimming for kids! Here are just a few of the benefits of swim lessons for kids:

Physical Activity: With many kids missing out on gym class and/or team sports, swim lessons are a great way to stay active!
Social Interaction: My kids love seeing their swim friends each week!
Mood Booster: How many times have you heard “I’m bored” over the past several months? Having a fun activity like swimming to look forward to is a great mood booster!
Brain Development: According to Griffith University, 3 to 5 year olds who swim are months ahead of their peers in math, literacy, and verbal skills–plus understanding directions!
Accomplish Goals: Setting goals–and meeting them–is huge for our kids’ self-esteem. I’ve seen firsthand how proud my kids look when they learn a new swim skill on their own and especially getting to move up to the next level!

Blair gets so many compliments on her goggles! Here are the ones she has. Colton has the same ones in blue!

Are you convinced of the benefits of swimming for kids? If you’re in the Kansas City area, check out Aqua-Tots Swim Schools in Olathe, Kansas to get your kids in the 90 degree water year-round today! In addition to their website, you can also find Aqua-Tots on Instagram and Facebook.

Check out some of the other posts I’ve written about the benefits of swimming for kids at Aqua-Tots: