As Halloween comes to an end, we enter the colder and brisker month of November. Which means packing up all the outdoor toys, moving towards the cozy indoors, and watching the sun go down earlier and earlier. While all of this may sound sad and bittersweet, it’s all the more reason you should consider swimming during the late fall and winter months. I know what you are thinking, swimming in the winter? That’s crazy. Not if you have the right attitude and an indoor facility at your disposal.
Exercise, especially for young children, is incredibly important during the cold season. One reason is that swimming can help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), otherwise known as seasonal depression. Because the colder months means less time running around outside and shorter days, children can fall into a state of fatigue and can show signs of SAD. Swimming is a sport scientifically proven to help children sleep, have high energy levels, and healthy appetites. If they continue to exercise with swimming during these next few months, all the energy they had during the summer will continue during the winter.
One of the best parts about swimming, is the community and friendships children and adults can build. Bonds that are created within a sport are some of the strongest out there. I know for myself that swimming for over 10 years has given me some of the greatest friends I have ever known; ask anyone who swims, and they’ll tell you the same thing. Keeping your child exercising with other children is a great way to increase their socialization skills and help them learn how to work with others. The friendships they make during school and athletic programs will help your child grow into a strong and mature person in the future.
As mentioned previously, swimming is one of the healthiest sports out there. It helps increase your lung capacity, blood flow, and one of the only sports that works every muscle in the body. Not only is your child going to have better energy levels and social bonds, but you’ll also feel better knowing that they’re getting a decent amount of exercise to stay healthy.
So, while the winter months are for stuffing ourselves with delicious turkey and scrumptious pies, it’s good to hop in the pool occasionally to burn it off. Then, of course, we feel a little less guilty about sneaking into the kitchen for leftovers.-Taylor Casey