Swimming in winter – 5 “cool” reasons in favour of it

Do you dread the thought of the preparation and layered clothes of small children, and taking those clothes off at the pool? I see, the thought of it makes you sweat. I’m sure that the idea of taking your children to the pool in winter sounds crazy. Swimming should not be restricted only to summer, which is a usual case in our country, but it should be done throughout the year.

Who takes kids to the pool in winter? It’s cold outside, their heads will be wet, they will get a cold, the last thing you need is a bronchitis. Yes, it can happen that you child gets a running nose, but the same can also happen as they run in the snow or in the playroom and they get sweaty and we take them out. There can always be an excuse. Are coldness, rain and wind always an excuse for the things we don’t feel like doing in winter, when we don’t want to leave our comfort zone in winter?

My five “cool” reasons why we should swim with our kids in winter:

You also boost your kids’ immune system in winter: I was going to the pool with my one-

year-old son and holding a one-month-old baby in my hands. You can imagine all the looks I got from the people around… On the one hand, there was an excitement like «aww look at the baby», and on the other, «who is this lunatic bringing the baby to the pool when it’s freezing out there». No, I’m not a freak, my children have been in the pool since they were four months old, and at the pool since their birth. If you can bring your kids to the pool while they are still very small, regardless of the season, you will additionally boost their immune system. How? In this way we encourage the controlled and slow temperature regulation and the adjustment to the temperature changes. Ever since I was four and I had the first contact with the water and swimming, until I was an active swimmer, I never had a cold or was ill, and I never had to skip classes in school.

Relaxing for all, a bit of peace for mum and dad: It’s somehow more difficult to get your kids tired in winter so that they could sleep well. They spend less time outdoors, I don’t count shopping malls and playrooms. That’s why going to the pool with your kids in winter is a right decision. After spending even half an hour in the water, my kids become calmer. Also, after swimming they don’t have the need to tease each other, fight over the toys, or bicker because the water makes them tired. The important thing is that after swimming they will sleep well, and the parent will have some peace for themselves!

A weekend adventure for the entire family in winter: It’s difficult to make yourself wake up in the morning at weekends, especially in winter, and go to the pool, especially with small kids. But trust me, it’s worth it, at least once a month! If you invite your friends to come with you, with their kids, you will have a great fun. As the kids play in the small pool, you can enjoy chatting with each other, until you all wrinkle in the water. After it, you may all go for a cup of coffee of tea.

Swimming is also available in winter: The snow is gone, the mud is everywhere, you can’t take your child to sleigh or ride a bike. The easiest thing you can do is take out the trunks from the drawer and go to the pool. It’s priceless! We don’t have to change our daily routine, because we can always swim regardless of rainy storms or snow!

We get fit by swimming in winter: Our muscles and joints get stiff in winter. By swimming and quality time spent with our kids in the water, our joints become flexible again, and our muscles become more elastic! Try it…

It’s prejudice that one should not swim in winter because it’s cold and kids may get ill... As long as the water is warm, and you dress yourselves well, there’s no reason why you couldn’t enjoy the swimming pool with your family throughout the year. Luckily, thanks to numerous sport centres (there’s never too many of them), spas and hotels with swimming pools with the warm water, it can be done in almost all parts of Serbia.