Swimming is an essential skill for anyone to learn and a great full-body workout for all swimmers. Children with muscle or joint conditions who struggle to engage in sports can benefit from swimming. Specifically, kids with cerebral palsy, also known as CP, are one group that can benefit significantly from joining special needs swimming lessons near me.
Here are the top six reasons that children with cerebral palsy should start taking swimming lessons.
1. Water Therapy Can Increase Strength
Children with cerebral palsy have higher or lower muscle tone, which makes it difficult for them to move their joints. Being in the water allows them to do movements they cannot do on land. The weightless feeling of floating in water with the amount of resistance that the water gives helps children to achieve new movements and strengthen muscles. If your child has hit a plateau in muscle development, try swimming!
2. Aquatic Therapy for Cerebral Palsy
The physical benefits of learning new motions in the pool often result in improved motion on land. It means that by enrolling your child in special needs swimming lessons near me, you can help them stand, walk, and feed themselves outside the pool! Many skills can be practiced on land and in the water, like jumping and flutter kicks. Practicing them in both places can help with better development of the skills. Talk to the special needs swim lesson instructor to learn things your little one can practice outside the pool to prepare for the lessons!
3. Comfortable Environment
Children with cerebral palsy may struggle to balance standing, walking, or running. It can even cause anxiety or fear for the child or the caregivers as they are scared of falling. It can cause children to avoid exercise or sports that put them at risk of falling. When they are in the water with an instructor, they are in a safe and comfortable space that allows them to exercise without fear. It makes them feel more empowered and boosts their confidence. Flotation devices can also make your little one feel safer in the water. Even with such a device, an adult who knows how to swim must be close by in the water with the child.
4. Swimming Exercises Provide Core Strengthening
- Swimming engages full-body muscles, especially the core.
- Aqua activities, like lessons or therapy, strengthen core and trunk muscles.
- Children with cerebral palsy benefit by achieving milestones such as sitting and walking.
- Improved posture from swimming aids breathing and swallowing.
- Regular swimming sessions enhance overall skills in children with cerebral palsy.
Are you convinced to enroll your child in swimming classes? Find expert-led special needs swimming lessons near me today!
5. Social Opportunities from Swimming
Swimming can be adapted to anybody’s abilities and helps develop new physical and emotional skills. Learning how to swim opens up many social opportunities for children who may not have been there before learning how to swim. Once kids learn to swim, they feel comfortable playing at the pool with friends or going to a birthday party.
6. Lifelong Fitness
Swimming also lays the foundation for developing lifelong fitness skills, a vital skill for children with cerebral palsy. Children can join a community swim league or a local club to continue to develop their swimming and social skills.
Every child with a cerebral palsy condition has unique strengths and needs. These must be addressed during each swimming session. As a parent, ensure you share with the instructor what motivates your child and give them tips for being the most engaged. The swim instructor wants to see your child grow, breaking all barriers, and will work with you to structure the lessons in the best way possible. Swimming can be a great supplement to your child’s therapeutic exercise plan.
Your child’s physical therapist may be able to give specific recommendations for participating in swimming lessons. Share those with your swim instructor to make the classes a new, therapeutic, and fun experience!
The Bottom Line
If you are searching for special needs swimming lessons near me, stop by Saguaro Aquatics. The experienced instructors here have been teaching infants and adults alike. Rest assured that swimmers with special needs will have the most fantastic time by the pool here. You will love seeing the progress, whether putting your face in the water or learning a new stroke.
