Safe, fun and smart: Swim team is the extracurricular activity could save your child's life

My son, Miles, started swimming at Goldfish Cary in October of 2020. I am so thankful we said “yes” to swim lessons!

Since he started swimming, we have seen Miles grow exponentially not only in his swim skills but also his overall confidence. He is always excited about swimming at Goldfish and has been itching for the pool to open in our neighborhood.

Here are few reasons why swim lessons are important for children:

Reduces the risk of drowning

According to the CDC, more children ages 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death except birth defects.

Drowning happens in seconds and is often silent

Drowning can happen to anyone, any time there is access to water.

Improves water safety skills

Goldfish Cary Follows this W.A.T.E.R Acronym:

Wear your life jacket!

Act. Throw! Don’t go.

Take swim lessons.

Educate, learn swim safety skills.

Respect, play it cool and follow the rules.

Swimming helps children stay active

Swimming can be a fun way to keep your kids active and healthy all year long. While most people know swimming is a great low-impact cardio exercise, it also provides a whole host of other health benefits, like improving strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and more!

Learning to swim creates a love and respect for the water

Rules are there for a reason, especially rules for the pool.

Common sense limits like walk, don’t run around the pool; make sure an adult is watching; no horseplay help all children love and respect the water.

It’s been so awesome to watch Miles gain the knowledge and life skills around swimming.

After almost two years of lessons, he participated in his first swim meet. He placed first in freestyle and backstroke and third in breaststroke. We were so proud of him, but we were most proud of him saying “yes” to the swim meet and finishing it. We can’t wait to see what is next for him.

Amy Davis is a monogramming mom of three and fitness instructor with FIT4MOM Midtown Raleigh and web contributor for the historic Village District. She is a regular Go Ask Mom contributor.