Benefits of Swings

Swinging is calming and provides a brain break. It also creates a fourth which is social experience.

Swinging benefits a child in 3 basic ways

1. The movement of swinging helps to wire the brain for processing information
Stimulating the senses through swinging facilitates learning to organize and interpret spatial information via the vestibular system, which is situated in the inner ear.

2. It’s calming
The smooth, back-and-forth motion helps with sensory integration. This can be soothing to a child, which is why you will often see swings utilized in therapy settings.

3. Swinging provides a “brain break”
It also stimulates the thinking brain (the cerebral cortex) that helps a child to focus. Research has shown that children are more focused and ready to learn after this kind of free play. We love that swinging provides the ultimate recharge!

4. Sing songs and have conversations as you push the swing
By standing right in front of your child and making eye contact for longer than usual the perfect opportunity for bonding is created. You can also boost vocabulary and speech skills with songs and lots of talking.

5. Use swinging as a transition tool
Children of all ages find a sense of security in being able to predict what is going to happen next in their daily routine, and this is especially true for babies and toddlers. It therefore makes sense to intentionally create certain familiar routines for announcing various events in your daily schedule, like nap time. To do this, make a habit of swinging your child while singing a fixed series of calming songs right before nap time. Your child will learn to associate the movement and those songs with the upcoming sleep time. And, by the time you get to the last song, your baby will be one giant step closer to being ready for that nap.