Courtesy of Elizabeth Wickham
Swimming teaches our children so many life lessons on a daily basis. They learn time management, perseverance, discipline, goal setting, plus develop character and grit. Through the process of a tough schedule with heavy physical demands, our children expand their accomplishments and possibilities. Someday their swim careers will be over, but they’ll take wonderful memories of best times, fun with teammates, plus all the life skills swimming has given them.
Here are ten reasons why swimmers are the best kids:
ONE
They are too tired to get into trouble. They’d rather be tucked into bed watching Netflix than going out late at night.
TWO
They have unbelievable appetites and are open to trying new things. In fact, they’ll eat pretty much whatever you put in front of them.
THREE
They are clean. They get a daily rinse in chlorine as well as take long showers.
FOUR
They are good students. They know they won’t have time—or will be too tired to do homework later—so they work ahead and try to get homework done before practice.
FIVE
They’re comfortable around adults. They communicate with coaches, other swim parents and officials regularly.
SIX
They’ve experienced failure and know it’s not the end of the world. They understand that there’s another chance and with hard work, they can do better.
SEVEN
They’re strong and fit. Working out is something their bodies crave and they’re in better shape than most of their classmates.
EIGHT
They are there for their teammates and friends. If someone is upset or has a problem, they’re more than willing to listen and help out. They also have fun with their friends and can make hours at a meet pass by with silliness and laughter.
NINE
They are confident. They put in long hours and hard work to reach their goals. With each improvement along the way, they build self-confidence.
TEN
We know their swim friends and their families—and that they are good kids we want our children to hang out with.
Why do you think swimmers are the best kids?
Elizabeth Wickham volunteered for 14 years on her kids’ club team
as board member, fundraiser, newsletter editor and “Mrs. meet manager.” She’s a writer with a bachelor of arts degree in editorial journalism from the University of Washington with a long career in public relations, marketing and advertising. Her stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines including the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Parenting and Ladybug. You can read more parenting tips on her blog.
My daughter is 6 and enjoys swimming. She is long and lean, so my wife thinks she would be perfect. I will support and encourage any sport that she shows interest in, but I like the idea of swimming for many of the reasons that you stated above. However, I also read an article that warns parents NOT to let their kids get into swimming because of the very long swim meets where your kid is in the water for a matter of minutes tops. That seems a little selfish, but I get that your kid might burn out because the contest doesn’t live up to the time and effort invested. Is there any substance to that warning or any… Read more »
I liked this article and think many of the points made by Elizabeth are excellent. I especially like the discipline and confidence points. My swimmer has become a much better student because of swimming. That’s the discipline part. Swimming taught her that effort and dedication pays off in races. She used to fight school and homework. She now applies this knowledge to doing her homework ahead of when it’s due.
Just like many other teen and tween girls these days, she also deals with anxiety. Even her modest swimming accomplishments boost her confidence. She clearly sees the connection between effort and achievement and realizes that she’s a lot more capable than what she thought. And learning to deal with anxiety… Read more »
My eldest swimmer saved his friend’s life 2 days ago (15yo, accomplished swimmer holding breath and passed out , 4ft deep) . Just for that all my money and effort has been well worth it.
Once, during a meet when looking at the crowds of team mates at the turn end of the pool cheering the swimmers on I asked one of my daughters, “Why are swimmers so supportive of one another?”
“Because,” she answered, ” we know how hard it is”.
Father of 5 swimmers
All of the above, sometimes it’s lovely for swim parents to be reminded how lucky we are!! ???
Nine should also say …..swimmers are confident because they often walk around in very little bits of clothing!!!!
As far as swimming being a sport of privilege, I beg to differ. First, all organized sports could be considered “privilege”, because of the time, family commitment, as well as expenses. My kids were average swimmers. They swam locally and we never travelled outside of our community. The return on our investment was well worth it!!!!
IMO. I believe that swimmers (runners,too) have an advantage over other sport participants in that their performance is measured by the clock. They can be elite or average and still experience success. Additionally, the amount of time that the athlete needs to commit is far beyond that of many team sports. This quickly enforces Ike management skills. Finally, they have a sport in which they can compete until they are 90+ if they so choose. Not many 90 year olds racing up and down the court or field taking hits
Advantage over runners: chlorine kills everything
I might add another…..swimming is a great sport for humility. Just when your swimmer reaches great speeds in their age group, they age up and start all over again;)