Holidays are a little break from the norm and they’re the perfect excuse to step out of your comfort zone. While you’re busy soaking up the sun and enjoying a break from work, it’s the perfect time to teach your child to swim. After all, you have access to a pool and plenty of opportunities to go in it. Laurie taught Ebony to swim on holiday, she was already confident in the water thanks to plenty of trips to our local pool, but he taught her how to swim by herself while we were away. By the end of the holiday, she was more confident than ever and could swim across the pool all by herself.
Here are five reasons why you should teach your child to swim on holiday:
1. You can make it fun
You can’t compare the ambience at your dreary local pool to the open air pool on holiday. Far from the flickering fluorescent tube lights and the sound of rain pattering against the window, you are free to really enjoy your time in the pool. It’s bright and sunny and filled with other kids having fun - it’s the perfect place to get your child hooked on swimming. And, unlike at the indoor pool back home, you can treat your child to as many swimming pool loungers and brightly coloured inflatables as they can handle. Your child is more likely to enjoy learning to swim (and to want to learn) if you make it fun, and that’s arguably way easier to achieve when you’re in a gorgeous pool on a sunny day abroad.
2. The pool is your oyster
When you teach your child to swim at home, you can either take them to weekly swimming lessons or your local pool or attempt to teach them yourself each time you take them swimming. When you’re staying at a resort with a pool, you’ll be spending plenty of time by the pool so you may as well make the most of it by teaching your child to swim. You’re all in your swimwear for most of the day anyway and you’re never far from the pool, so it’s easy to get in and have another go at swimming each time your kid shows an interest.
3. It’s cheap
Swimming lessons can end up costing you a fortune. Even if you decide to do the teaching yourself, the cost of pool admissions can quickly add up over the weeks. The pool at your resort is free for the taking, so you may as well make the most of it. You might be surprised at the difference you can achieve in just two weeks. By spending lots of time in the water, playing and learning, your child will have learnt a lot by the end of the holiday.
4. You’re surrounded by inspiration
At home, swimming has to compete with other activities. Your child wants to hang out with her friends, she has extra-curricular activities, she wants to see family and play with the toys she has at home. She may not always want to go swimming when the opportunity arises. On holiday, your child is likely to be spending a lot of time by the pool. And not only that, she’ll be watching the older kids having fun in the pool. Resort pools are filled with giggling, squealing happy children who are running, swimming and handstanding (definitely a word) to their heart's content. If that doesn’t convince your child to get into the pool for an impromptu lesson, nothing will.
5. It’s good exercise
If you’re enjoying a holiday in the sun, there’s a good chance your child will be consuming bucketloads of ice-cream. When the sun is hot, it’s not always easy to run around and expel your excess energy, but it is important to stay active on holiday. An easy way of doing this is to get the family in the pool for some swimming. The NHS reckons swimming is a great way to get the family moving and have fun together. So get a beach ball, blow up the inflatables, and head into the water to burn off a few of those ice-creams.
This is a collaborative post.