Swimming enhances babies’ gripping power and balance--study
POSTED April 30, 2010 - 13:58 | POSTED BY neha gupta
Last edited by Kangna Agarwal on April 30, 2010 - 14:20
The difference is significant even if children as young as five-year olds are taught to swim and perform water related activities.
“Practice makes perfect,” says Hermundur Sigmundsson, a professor of psychology at NTNU. Now Sigmundsson and Brian Hopkins, a professor of psychology from Lancaster University, have shown that baby swimming is good for developing balance and movement in infants and young children.
Details of the study
For the study, the researchers looked at a study group of 19 baby swimmers and another group of 19 non-swimmers who had never participated in any water activity, all in the age group of 4-5 years.
The young swimmers in the study group, however, were enrolled in swimming classes lasting for two hours per week since the age group of 2-3 months.
The participants were similar in other factors like the parents’ education, housing and economic status.
The participants were tested for their grip and balance through some simple exercises.
The study clearly shows that the children in the study group were better performers at balancing and gripping than the non-swimmers.
“We saw very clearly that baby swimmers were the best in exercises that related to balance and the ability to reach for things,” says Sigmundsson.
The study has been published in the May 2010 issue of Child: Care Health and Development.
Swimming: a helpful sport for youngsters
Holding small and innovative swimming sessions including a somersault on a floating mat, having the baby dive under water, jump from the pool edge, and balance on the hand of a parent while reaching to pick up floating objects are a good starting point for arousing the child’s interest towards the sport.
Exercises like walking on tiptoes, balancing on one foot, skipping rope, rolling a ball into a goal and catching a beanbag too are found to be of great help to enhance the gripping power of kids in future.
"I know an instructor who has been teaching baby swimming for 20 years. He had a great deal of information about children who have participated in swimming courses. So it was natural for us to conduct the study in Iceland," Sigmundsson states.
"The instructor was able to bring three-month-old babies right up to a balanced position, standing on his palm. The babies locked joints -- it was amazing to watch."
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