Do you spend time with your family? If not, you should. Spending time with your family is essential in many aspects. For instance, family time brings everyone together, it develops a strong bond, helps the communication grow, etc. If you are a parent of an adolescent, spending family time is the best parenting hack you can ever have. That’s because family activities can have a significant impact on adolescents’ emotional well-being.
While there are many ways, you can spend time with your family, one of the most effective and fun ways is swimming. Why so? Well, swimming is the perfect combination desired for family time. It is fun, healthy, and provides you with all the benefits of family time.
You can go swimming outdoors like the community and sports center or open like lakes and beaches. But when it comes to family swimming, I prefer in-house swimming pools. With in-house pools, it is only you and the family. There is no one to disturb or judge you. If you are concerned about the safety of the small ones, you can put up a small vinyl fence around the pool. This will prevent small family members from falling into the pool and maintain the curb appeal of your house.
Regardless of the location, swimming can provide many benefits. Some prominent ones are mentioned in this list.
1. Strong bonding
Bonding is crucial for a healthy and happy family. Everyone in a family has their own schedule, friends, and extracurricular activities to take care of. Hence, quality time with your family members can bring everyone close to each other. You will come to know what’s happening in others’ life and might also be able to help them out if need be.
You might say that this can be done with any family time, then why swimming? That’s because most fun family activities are not adept for every age group. For instance, if you choose to trek, well, it is obviously a fun way. But trekking with infants and old members does not seem to be a great idea. Hence, swimming becomes the best choice as every age group can enjoy it according to their preference. While some can swim, others can only walk inside the pool or spank the water to create those artificial waves and enjoy.
2. Staying healthy
Want to have fun and health? Swimming is just what you are looking for. It is one of the best fun activities that provide multiple health benefits. It requires the use of the entire body to move against the resistance of the water. Hence, it gives your body the workout it needs to stay healthy and in shape.
Swimming helps you keep your heart rate up, builds endurance and cardiovascular fitness, and improves your core strength while maintaining a healthy heart and body weight. It is more so beneficial for women. According to studies, intense swimming can help women with mild hypertension to improve their cardiovascular health.
Swimming has also got some indirect ways to help your children stay healthy.
- They will become hungry, and you can take this as an opportunity to introduce a healthy diet.
- After intense swimming, they will get a sound sleep.
- They will be learning a life-saving skill at a young age.
3. Reducing stress and anxiety
Many factors are contributing to reducing stress and anxiety while we swim. The most scientific one is the release of serotonin. It is said that our brain naturally releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter when we swim. It plays a huge role in improving our mood. Hence, the more the serotonin is released, the more stress-free we become.
Another factor is the sense of being with family. The bond that improves during our family activities plays a vital role in making us physically active and mentally fit. We can share our life experiences, get to know about what’s happening in others’ life. If someone is facing any trouble, we can help the person get rid of the issue.
4. Having fun
The reasons mentioned prior have something to do with our body and family. But this point is solely about having fun and happiness. The joy that we are talking about here is at the core of leading a healthy life. Swimming with family or even alone gives us the fun and happiness that helps us become more healthy, stress-free, and joyous.
You can conduct many activities while swimming, such as racing, pool-side board games, or pool nights to get your family together.
To put it simply, swimming can add years to your life while making it more cheerful and joyous. It is far more enjoyable to swim with your family than heading to the gym or jogging alone. Try swimming, and you will get to know the overall benefits it provides.
