February is Heart Health Month, and Goldfish Swim School takes kids’ heart health seriously — and so should you. Not only is swimming fun, an important lifelong skill that all kids should have, and great exercise, but swimming is also important for kids’ heart health.

Find out why with these 5 Ways Swimming Keeps Kids Fit (and Happy)

Swimming makes the heart work better.

When it comes to cardiovascular health, swimming is one of the top exercises in keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels low — for all ages. Why? Swimming trains your body to have your heart and lungs work together efficiently, and that in turn allows your heart to have a lower resting heart rate since it has to work less to pump blood and oxygen throughout your body — which is a good thing!

Swimming strengthens every muscle — including your heart.

Working out isn’t about getting big muscles; it’s about working your muscles so that they stay strong. And strong muscles — including your heart, which is a muscle — are better able to overcome any potential damaging issue. The heart, like every other muscle, needs constant exercise to stay fit. Luckily, swimming is one of the easiest and most fun exercises to strengthen muscles for kids with long-lasting benefits!

Swimming burns calories that can harm the heart.

Part of staying fit it burning off more calories than you take in. This means less accumulation of fat, which isn’t about a body-image concern: It’s about making sure that fat isn’t building up and clogging arteries (which can lead to heart disease over time). The good thing about swimming and getting kids to burn those calories is that swimming doesn’t seem like “exercise” to kids —it’s more about doing something that’s fun! And even if kids “know” how to swim, they still greatly benefit from having swim lessons. That’s certainly something to celebrate!

Swimming helps prevent diabetes and childhood obesity.

These two conditions have been on the rise in recent years, but luckily, they can both often be prevented! Having an active lifestyle that works the heart, strengthens muscles and burns calories helps kids stay healthy. It can also instill a life-long habit of exercise and fitness.

Swimming makes you happy.

Sure, swimming is fun for kids in and of itself. But did you know that swimming really does make kids happy? Exercise releases endorphins — the brain’s natural feel-good chemicals. It also reduces cortisol, the stress hormone. As a result, kids — and anyone who exercises — have lower instances of anxiety and depression. That’s above and beyond the extraordinary results swimming provides!

Keep your kids heart healthy at Goldfish Swim School!

Our instructors at Goldfish Swim School use integrity, compassion and trust to make sure your kids have a GOLDEN experience and receive all sorts of benefits from their time swimming here (plus our WOW! customer service!). Find a location near you and sign up today! (Even babies younger than age 1 can start swimming, since we have many different levels for all ages.)