Children who learn how to
swim at a young age are reaching many developmental milestones earlier than the
norm.
Researchers from the Griffith Institute for Educational
Research surveyed parents of 7000 under-fives from Australia, New Zealand and
the US over three years.
A further 180 children aged 3, 4 and 5 years have been
involved in intensive testing, making it the world's most comprehensive study
into early-years swimming.
Lead researcher Professor Robyn Jorgensen says the study
shows young children who participate in early-years swimming achieve a wide
range of skills earlier than the normal population.
"Many of these skills are those that help young
children into the transition into formal learning contexts such as pre-school
or school.
"The research also found significant differences
between the swimming cohort and non-swimmers regardless of socio-economic
background.
"While the two higher socio-economic groups performed
better than the lower two in testing, the four SES groups all performed better
than the normal population.
The researchers also found there were no gender differences
between the research cohort and the normal population.
As well as achieving physical milestones faster, children
also scored significantly better in visual-motor skills such as cutting paper,
colouring in and drawing lines and shapes, and many mathematically-related
tasks. Their oral expression was also better as well as in the general areas of
literacy and numeracy.
"Many of these skills are highly valuable in other
learning environments and will be of considerable benefit for young children as
they transition into pre-schools and school."
The study is a joint project between Griffith University,
Kids Alive Swim Program and Swim Australia.
Report: http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/470251/early-year-swim-interim-report-2012.pdf
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