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Effects of Baby Swimming on Motor and Cognitive Development: A Pilot Trial
Federica Borioni1, Valentina Biino2, Valeria Tinagli1
1Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, 56862University of Rome "Foro Italico", Rome, Italy.
Insights
Baby swimming may enhance infant motor skills and cognitive functions. This pilot study suggests water contact positively impacts gross and fine motor development, with potential benefits for executive functions like inhibition and response shifting.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Kinesiology
Background:
- Early childhood experiences, including water contact, are crucial for development.
- The impact of structured aquatic activities on infant development requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the influence of a 10-week baby swimming program on infant motor and cognitive development.
- To assess potential improvements in gross motor, fine motor, and executive function skills.
Main Methods:
- Infants were assigned to a baby swimming intervention group (n=12) or a control group (n=15).
- Motor development was assessed using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS-2).
- Cognitive development, specifically executive functions, was evaluated using tests for working memory, inhibition, and response shifting.
Main Results:
- The baby swimming group demonstrated significant improvements in gross, fine, and total motor skills.
- Marginal improvements were observed in inhibition speed and shifting accuracy.
- Associated gains were noted in shifting accuracy and fine and total motor skills.
Conclusions:
- Baby swimming shows promising benefits for infant motor development.
- This pilot study suggests potential positive effects on cognitive executive functions.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm these findings.
Abstract:
Contact with water, even from birth, may be an important experience for child development. In this work, we aimed to investigate if baby swimming might influence infant development in motor and cognitive domains. We assigned infants to either a 10-week baby swimming intervention (n = 12; M age = 13 months (SD) = 7) or a control group (n = 15; M age = 22 months (SD) = 6). We assessed motor development with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (2nd edition, PDMS-2) and cognitive development with core tests of executive functions: delayed response for working memory, object retrieval for inhibition, and A-not-B for response shifting. Non-parametric analyses revealed that infants in the baby-swimming group improved in gross, fine, and total motor skills, and showed marginally better inhibition speed and shifting accuracy, with associated gains of shifting accuracy and fine and total motor skills. Even with in this small-sized convenience sample, this pilot study revealed promising benefits from baby swimming on motor development that warrant further study. This preliminary work paves the way for replication and illustrates what effect sizes may be expected in sufficiently powered well-designed follow-up research targeted to aid the joint development of motor and cognitive skills as early as infancy.
