Babies who are taught to swim grow up with improved balance and catching ability, researchers say.
A Norwegian and a British professor worked on a five year project to establish the effects of encouraging babies to swim between the ages of two months and seven months.
Babies jumped, dived, somersaulted on mats and picked up floating objects in the study.
During the study 19 baby swimmers in Iceland were compared with 19 other children. At the age of five they were set exercises such as balancing on one foot, catching a bean-bag and rolling a ball into goal.
Researcher Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, worked with Professor Brian Hopkins, of Lancaster University, UK, on the project.
Professor Sigmundsson said: "We saw very clearly that baby swimmers were the best in exercises that related to balance and the ability to reach for things.
"It’s incredibly exciting that specific training for young babies has an effect later in life. Development is a dynamic interplay between maturation, growth, experience and learning. Our study shows that we must never underestimate the learning aspect."
* Meanwhile a second study says young children who undertake vigorous exercise go on to enjoy stronger hip bones than others.
British researchers reported their findings to the World Congress on Osteoporosis in Florence, Italy.
Advanced scanning technology was used to measure the impact of seven days of physical activity on the hip. More than 200 children, aged six, took part in the research, conducted at Southampton and Cambridge universities.
Sigmundsson, H. and B. Hopkins. 2010. Baby swimming: exploring the effects of early intervention on subsequent motor abilities , Child: Care Health and Development. 36:3, 428-430. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.00990.x
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