Water Activities for kids and their parents
An important issue in child development is maintaining a normal weight by developing healthy habits - One way is to encourage their participation in physical activities.
Water sport, exercise or just playing in water can be very effective for children, because:
- They are highly challenging and fun,
- The water resistance helps burn fat and tone muscle with less effort,
- Children benefit from sun and the fresh air developed by the water evaporation.
Playing in water can improve your child's long-term mental and physical health in many ways:
- Water activities can correct and prevent childhood obesity
- Sport increases self-esteem in youth and reduces anxiety and stress
- Children involved in physical challenging activities have higher grades and better behaviors
Water exercise can begin during infancy with backlying in 2 to 3 inches of warm water to promote independent kicking. Over time, the child can progress to independent activity in the water, first in a swim vest or other support, then swimming without support. Waterwalking may be possible for individuals who are not able to walk outside the pool. Source: niams.nih.gov
Adults can benefit from water activities as well. It is an excellent form of aerobic conditioning and may have some benefit with respect to strengthening. Because water activities do little to promote bone health, however, adults should also try to add walking or other weight-bearing exercise to their physical activity program.
Water games
As
children play, they are strengthening motor skills, developing social
skills, and discovering all that their immediate environment has to offer.
Playtime can be purposeful, but it should still be fun for parent and
child.
Water sports games are great for family fun and health. Using
inflatable "water toys
This bestseller books covering a vast variety of possibilities to have fun in the water may interest you. The trilogy of books in the "Aquafun" series teaches how playing and taking part in sport in the water activities can be made creatively and still remain fun. You will find many game suggestions, which could give ideas for further exercises or which can be used directly in the exercise sessions:
Aquafun: First Steps by Uwe Rheker |
Aqua Fun: Games and Fun for the Advanced by Uwe Rheker |
Seashores offer a great environment for kids health and development:
Beaches, lakes, and even swimming pools can offer great water activities for kinds.
The
seaside is always related to sun exposure, which is
also very beneficial for a child development's body (bones, muscles,
brain, respiratory system, etc), not to mention the salt, iodine
and all the other minerals contained in the seawater.
" Medicine had finally just come to recognize the primary importance of sunlight in preventing the scourge of rickets and its essential role in synthesizing vitamin D in the body. Perhaps it is time the profession now listened to a world authority on the subject and revised its almost paranoia about sunshine and ultraviolet radiation" - tells The National Academy of Sciences read more...
Seashores are great environment for the child health and development, as well as for parents, due to the seawater, sun and healthy air. The seawater concentration on beach resorts gives the body more buoyancy, making water activities even more enjoyable.
