All children should be encouraged to swim and be taken, when possible to a local pool. Swimming is fun but also an essential life skill. Children should be taught water basics from an early age.
To aid young swimmers Splash About have lots of lovely swim costumes, shorts and swimming aids. They even have towels and wetsuits and pretty much all a parent needs to make swimming fun, be it in a pool or at the sea.
Izebella has been regularly testing out one of the floatsuits.
These floatsuits are designed to help children swim rather than just buoyancy. They contain 16 floats around the waist which can be removed and adjusted as needed. A child starts off with all the floats and as they learn to swim the floats get gradually removed until they are swimming without any. This suit also removes the need for bulky armbands meaning arms are free to practice swimming and more fun of course.
It comes with added sun protection too, if it’s a hot day or if travelling abroad to much warmer climates; this suit is SFP50+ giving maximum sub protection where the body is covered by it.
It’s also easy to put on and get off because unlike regular swimsuits, this one has a large zipper at the back of it.
The first few times, Izebella had it on, she did struggle a little with it. I think we both thought it worked like armbands and rings to keep her constantly upright but it’s not like that at all. The suit is designed to support a child in the swimming position and yes children can still get stuck and can still end up with their face in the water whilst wearing one as it’s not a life saving product. Young children should never be left unsupervised in water no matter what they are wearing.
Izebella did tell me that it felt strange wearing the new suit at first as the floats are round her stomach rather than arms or chest but she did seem to have more freedom to splash. The floats did make her a bit unbalanced too at first but she was fine once she had worn it a few times.
The floatsuits come in many colours and patterns and sizes from 1-6 years. Prices vary per style so check the Splash About website for more details.