4 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Take a Break from Swim Lessons, Sports and Other Activities
You dont need to fill up every precious minute of your childs non-school time with an activity (its OK, really!), but chances are you may have your kids enrolled in one or two sports or lessons. What happens when the dreaded Q word comes up and your little ball of energy wants to quit an activity for a while? For the most part, you shouldnt give in. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, continuing the activity can provide valuable skills and life lessons.
Here are 4 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Take a Break from Swim Lessons, Sports and Other Activities
1. Progress Slides Downhill
Getting good at or mastering a skill is dependent upon repetition. The more you practice, the better you become. So, it makes sense that taking a break from repeating lessons stalls the learning process. And, unfortunately, time off can mean any progress will go sliding back downhill when those skills arent being used.
Moms, think about the last time you tried to do a French braid. If youve done it a lot recently, youll have it done in no time. But if havent done one in a few years, (even if you were very skilled at it way back when) itll probably take you some time to remember how let alone do it spectacularly. So, just because your kids will still know what theyre doing, they wont be as proficient as they once were if theyre not continuing to work on the skill (Which is why at Goldfish Swim School, we encourage you to get that Golden Experience and Keep Your Kids Enrolled in Swim Lessons).
2. A Break = Quitting
We know you may not intend to completely throw in the towel, but it happens. If you take a break from swim lessons, gymnastics, piano lessons and other extra-curricular activities, you run the risk of never returning. Whether its because of funding or because something else comes along and you dont have the time anymore, it can happen. Luckily, swim lessons at Goldfish are only a half-an-hour a week; about the same amount of time as your childs favorite TV show.
3. Quitting Reinforces Instant Gratification
Whens the last time you went to the toy store (or shopping mall) and your kids DIDNT ask you to buy them something? We live in a society of now, now, NOW, so its bound to happen. But how do you help curb that (besides saying NO all the time)? Its the little things, actually. For example, tell your kids that quitting swim lessons isnt an option and that theyll see the fruits of their labor in time. Thats delayed gratification. It teaches kids the reward of sticking with something and not giving in to instant gratification. These are HUGE life lessons that will be far-reaching, all through childhood and the teen years but especially as an adult and some of the 4 Reasons to NOT Let Your Child Quit Swim Lessons.
4. Personal Bonds are Broken
Its important for kids to feel like theyre a part of something and participating in extracurricular activities whether swim classes, basketball, karate or dance makes them part of a group. Theyll be building bonds with instructors (like ours who teach with integrity, compassion and trust) and other kids and those kinds of relationships cant be replaced. The longer your child continues with lessons, the more included they will feel. And, surprise: This builds teamwork (a great life skill!), even in individual sports and activities, which is certainly something to celebrate.
Goldfish Swim School
Activities such as swim lessons are great for kids to do at any age and Goldfish Swim School offers instruction with extraordinary results for kids ages 4 months and older! Sign up for a class near you today and see our WOW customer service!