Mum of twin girls hails ‘wide-ranging life skill benefits’ gained from swimming

A mum from Salisbury has hailed the ‘wide-ranging life skill benefits’ that swimming helps to develop after seeing the positive impact on her twin girls.

Joanne and her daughters are part of a new Swim England campaign aiming to showcase the long-term wider benefits of swimming lessons and inspire more children to learn.

All three feature in Swim England and leading leisure operators’ latest wave of the #LoveSwimming campaign highlighting the wider benefits of swimming lessons and the value of starting their learning journey.

On the positive impact swimming has had on her girls, Joanne said: “I think there is such wide-ranging life skill benefits of swimming.

“It is for everybody to think about, for the general wellbeing of your child and their development.

“It is really important for me, because they are twins they have got a security blanket of being together and I want to give them as many opportunities as possible to do their own thing and be their own independent person.

“You can do that through swimming as they have got to swim for themselves and make their own connections so swimming is a great opportunity to be able to do that.

“Swimming can also contribute to your overall wellbeing. It is a physical activity and getting in the pool can help you to forget about things that may be going on day-to-day as you can just focus on your swimming and that definitely contributes to a better mood afterwards.

“You can intertwine the lengths and technique of old school swimming lessons in a fun way through play and using toys.

“They always come out after having fun, smiling and feeling like they have learnt something whilst having a really good time.”

New research from Swim England has found that children involved in swimming lessons are not just gaining vital water safety skills – but extensive additional benefits including increased confidence, happiness, and social skills to create friendships at a young age.

Lessons now have been shown to have wider positive benefits. New data found that 84 per cent of parents agree that swimming lessons have helped their child improve their confidence or self-esteem, alongside learning vital water safety skills.

More than two thirds of parents agreed that swimming lessons helped their children to meet new friends, making swimming lessons one of the most productive mediums for supporting children to be healthy and happy.

As part of the latest #LoveSwimming campaign, more children are being urged to get swimming, to ensure they are not only safe in the water, but to benefit from the wide range of life-long skills.

Andy Salmon, Swim England’s CEO, added: “#LoveSwimming is a hugely important campaign for us as it represents an opportunity for us as the national governing body to make people aware just how important swimming lessons are.

“Water safety is of paramount importance but as well as learning how to enjoy the water it is clear that children’s confidence and self-esteem builds and they make new and lasting friendships.

“Our research has shown just how important swimming lessons are with the vast majority of parents we have spoken to highlighting the positive benefits of their children taking part in swimming lessons.

“I would urge any parent reading this who hasn’t put their children through swimming lessons to do so – there is so much to gain and we’re confident your children will love it.”

To get involved in swimming lessons, visit swimming.org/poolfinder.