Just like Winnie the Pooh said, “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.”
At Fulton Swim School we agree with Winnie the Pooh, friendships make life a whole lot more enjoyable and learning how to make friends is one of the most valuable skills your child can learn!
But how can you help your children make friends? Well, we spend every day watching friendships form in and around our pools, so we happen to know a bit about it! Let us help you support your child to “fill their honey pot” by taking swimming lessons.
5 Ways Swimming Lessons Help Children Make Friends
As parents, it’s our job to look after our little ones, and we take that job very seriously. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly how to help and it’s even harder to strike the perfect balance between empowering your child to problem-solve for themselves and encouraging their independence, while still guiding them and supporting them when they need it. c
When it comes to making friends, of course you know how amazing your children are and you want everyone else to know too! So it can be difficult if they are struggling to make friends, particularly if your child is shy or introverted.
If that sounds familiar, you’ve probably asked yourself how you can help your children make friends and, while there is no one right answer, we know that swimming lessons can be the perfect solution!
Obviously, we know that swimming regularly is good for physical health, mental health, building confidence and overcoming fears of the water, but swimming lessons also provide the perfect, low-pressure environment to build lasting friendships! Here’s how:
1. Having a shared interest
Every friendship is built on similarities and shared interests. By meeting other children at their swimming lessons, your child has a head start making new friends because they already know that they share a hobby with everyone in the class!
When children begin building their friendships in their swimming lessons, it’s easy to organise playdates outside of class because anywhere there is a pool, a beach, a lake, or a river to play, splash and swim will be exciting and fun for all the children involved.
While a love of swimming may act as the building blocks as your child’s friendships develop, they’ll find out that they have plenty else in common with their new friends in no time at all!
2. Building confidence
Swimming lessons help children to make friends, not just by helping them to build confidence in social situations, but also by building confidence within themselves. As the children grow more comfortable in the water and more sure of themselves, it becomes easier for them to express themselves to others and start befriending the kids they’re swimming with.
We keep all of our classes nice and small, so that every child gets the attention they need to keep safe and make great progress with their swimming. Small classes also make it easier for the children to get to know each other, and means that those shy and introverted children don’t have to contend with a big crowd of noisy kids, which is very helpful for making new friends!
3. Working as a team
Throughout their classes, the children learn techniques and play games together as a team. While we aren’t opposed to some friendly competition every now and then, we always want each swimmer to feel like part of the team and to look out for each other in the pool, and out of the pool.
The team doesn’t just include our young swimmers though! The Fulton family extends to parents, caregivers and siblings too! When you watch one of their lessons, you’ll meet other families doing exactly the same things for their children. Fulton Swim School is the centre of a community of families just like yours, who all want their kids to have fun and stay safe around the water, and we’re always happy when we see new friendships develop as a result of that.
4. Overcoming obstacles together
Sometimes learning to swim is hard! But navigating the challenges that come with learning to swim helps children to bond and make new friends.
During every swimming lesson, children are instructed through new techniques. Although our teachers are incredible, sometimes there’s nothing better than help from a friend. Often during class, children help each other with tips and tricks to master new swimming techniques and conquer difficult learning obstacles, further growing their friendships and also encouraging empathy for each other at the same time.
5. Celebrating each other!
At every Fulton Swim School, we celebrate every success. Our swim school family loves celebrating every achievement, no matter how big or small. We get the kids to ring the achievement bell whenever they’ve mastered a new skill, or made progress towards their goals, so that everyone in earshot can celebrate them! When new friendships are forming, celebrating each other goes a long way to help solidify new bonds.
Each child is given Graduation Ribbons as they move through their lessons and complete levels, they get digital certificates and, without fail, they get lots of smiles and high fives during and after every one of their swimming lessons!
So, there you have it, that is 5 ways that swimming lessons can help children make friends! Why not sign up for lessons at your local Fulton Swim School, our team will help your children learn about water safety and make new friends at the same time.
Want to make some new friends of your own? It’s no secret that making friends can be hard, particularly for adults with busy schedules and endless responsibilities to deal with, but swimming lessons are a great way for adults to make friends too!
Get in touch or come down to the nearest Fulton Swim School to get yourself and your kids excited about taking swimming lessons, improving water safety skills and making new friends!
