Babies' first words. We always wonder what they'll be.
Then, once we hear our babies babbling and cooing and those first "Mamas" or "Dadas" emerge, we wonder what's next—if they're meeting their language milestones in a timely manner and how quickly their vocabulary will grow.
If you're looking for ways to help bolster your little ones' brain development and language skills, one of the things you can do is sign them up for swimming lessons.
If you're looking for ways to help bolster your little ones' brain development and language skills, one of the things you can do is sign them up for swimming lessons.
While water safety for future summer fun might be the initial reason you sign your kids up for swimming lessons, studies from Griffith University, the University of Delaware, and others show that swimming lessons contribute to the development of language skills, enhance memory and focus, and play a role in a child's academic performance.
According to this study on the benefits of baby swimming, aquatic lessons early in life can also have a positive impact on the development of fine motor skills, with buoyancy, water density, and hydrostatic pressure all acting as sensory stimuli on your little ones' vestibular and tactile systems.
Sensory Integration Education (SIE) explains that the pool is an excellent place to explore proprioceptive and vestibular inputs, with activities like wading, scooping, and pushing water providing resistance and heavy work for your toddlers.
SIE also says blowing bubbles are good for breath work, which complements speech and language development, interoception activities, and self-regulation techniques.
Laps in water equal leaps in development
So, how exactly does hopping into the pool help buoy up language and cognitive development in toddlers?
The physical movement, combined with the sensory input while they're in the pool, stimulates their brain, helping them reach verbal and communication milestones earlier (by up to 11 months) and helping them excel in math, literacy, and spatial reasoning significantly sooner than those who don't take part in aquatic activity.
Swim classes take place in a multi-sensory environment, and they accelerate the development of cognitive and language skills in a handful of ways, including:
- Language: Swimming lessons provide a structured learning environment that's rich with language. Listening, processing, and responding to a swimming teacher's instructions all enhance a toddler's vocabulary and oral expression. Following sequences and hearing their coaches counting also contribute to their cognitive development.
- Attention: Listening to their teacher, focusing on instructions, waiting for their turn, and relaxing through patterned breathing has a positive impact on not only their attention span but also their memory retention.
- Coordination: In order to swim, toddlers need to use both sides of their body at the same time. Practicing and perfecting this bilateral cross-pattern bolsters the corpus callosum (read: the part of the brain that connects the left and right hemispheres). Firing up both sides simultaneously strengthens the neural pathways used for learning and literacy.
Breath: When your toddler hops into the pool, the hydrostatic pressure from the water, combined with the physical demands of swimming, strengthen their diaphragm. This improves breath control, which helps with producing sounds, saying words, and speaking clear sentences.
Deep development in the shallow end
From learning how to crawl, to mastering the front crawl, there are many skills your little ones will acquire in their first years of life.
Beyond safety and fitness, swimming lessons early in life can have a positive impact and give your little ones a leg up when it comes to cognitive skills, language development, and fine motor skills.
Knowing they can soak up some crucial cognitive skills while they practice the perfect starfish formation makes swim time even more appealing.
Since our twin toddlers started weekly swimming lessons a month-and-a-half ago, there's been a huge leap in their language development, and it's so rewarding to hear them carrying on a conversation together.
Just another great reason to hit the pool and dive into the deep development of integral skills while floating around the shallow end.
Did you sign your twins up for swimming lessons? Did you notice a leap in their language skills? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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