LBG is currently learning to swim. At her request, we take her every Monday for a swimming lesson at one of our local swimming pools, and she spends half an hour in the water with her teacher whilst I watch- usually with tears in my eyes- her slow, steady progress from Non-swimmer to swimmer. DH and I also take both Girls swimming every weekend to build on what she has learned but also to continue to give her- and her sister- confidence in their abilities.
From after half-term, LBG will also be swimming with her school. Because she goes to a private school, there is an accompanying uniform list, which we have bought. But if I were issuing a similar list, in addition to a very cute swimsuit, I would include the following products:
1. Driplaice mat. I came across these rather by accident in a toy shop but have since purchased them as birthday presents for several people including Godlings. They are neoprene fish-shaped mats which you can place on the floor for your child to stand on whilst they are getting changed. They are much warmer underfoot than the usually cold, wet and often dirty floors of the swimming pool changing rooms, and also ensure that little people with wet feet don’t fall over. I cannot recommend them enough.
2. AquaEars. We were sent two packs of these to review as both Girls complain about water in their ears. The silicone ‘blobs’ are decorated with pictures of their favourite characters- in our case Hello Kitty and Ariel- which wear off very quickly once you mould the blobs to their ears. They do an effective job of keeping water out though, and are reusable. They can also be used as a sound ‘damper’ at loud events like concerts and air shows and launch in Boots in June 2013.
3. Personalised swimming bag. One of LBG’s favourite birthday presents was a beautiful personalised swimming bag she got from Granny. It’s pretty, has her initial on and is easy to spot amongst a sea of others. It also keeps the contents from soaking all of her other things when left in her school bag until home time. Something her school swimming bag fails to do.
4. Zoggs goggles. One of the major impediments to LBG’s progress is her fear of putting her head under the water. Dimples happily throws herself off the side without even checking if someone is nearby, so she has no such concern. But since her teacher suggested goggles, and since she chose her very own pair, we have had fewer issues. I did have a cheaper pair initially but have learned the hard way that you get what you pay for. The Zoggs goggles she has now are ideal.
5. Towelling dress/poncho. Towels are great for getting yourself dry but younger children still find managing to walk and keep it wrapped around them tricky. A towelling dress is great for holidays as they can wear this until they have dried out and not miss a moment of fun but in the local pool, a poncho has been a great solution: it helps dry the hair as it has a hood but it’s still super easy for a five-year-old to get on and off buy themselves.
*disclosure: we were sent two packs of Aqua Ears for the purposes of review. Everything else was purchased with our own money. All opinions are our own.
Love that little mat for standing on! We have similar earplugs for Kitty in the bath as after her grommet surgery she can’t get any water in her ears at all in case it gets infected. Loving the tips 🙂
The mats are awesome Annie- protection from cold wet and often dirty- in the case of our local pool- floors. And I remember having vaselined-cottonwool as a child post-grommet surgery, so know how Kitty feels.