When your child is one year old, he has passed the baby swimming time and you can go to the swimming pool together to learn new skills. During the first visits to the swimming pool, the child encounters a lot of new things: the water in the pool is exciting and also the new environment, echoing sounds and strange people can surprise. In this guide, you will find tips for the first swimming sessions, starting a swimming school, and choosing a children's swimsuit and children's swimming goggles and equipment.
To swim with a toddler, to the swimming hall together and towards swimming skills!
To swim with a child, where can you find a swimming school?
Swimming schools are organized in swimming halls and in summer also on the beaches. Them
organized by, for example, municipal sports activities, swimming clubs and other associations, as well as private companies.
On the Suh.fi website you can find a list of safe and
from approved swimming schools.
When choosing a swimming school, it is good to consider the following things:
Familiarizing yourself with the swimming pool - Before the start of the swimming school, it is good to visit
getting to know the swimming hall beforehand. It's good to do this a few at a time
once. The depth of the pool, the noises of the water, the splashing of the water and other people
can be exciting the first few times. When the place is already familiar, it doesn't
in itself excites the swimmer and he can concentrate on teaching at the swimming school while the swimming hall
is already familiar as a place.
Correct assessment of the child's skills - When choosing the right swimming school group for the child, it is good
to assess the child's skills, prefer to be placed in a teaching group of the right level
to find. Swimming schools have built-in requirements for those arriving in groups,
with the help of which the starting level of the entire group can be brought as close as possible to each other.
This contributes to the implementation of the group's curriculum and thereby to everyone
the student's development with the group. Check out the definition of different swimming skills from the suh.fi guide to choosing a swimming school.
To the swimming pool or spa with the child, tips for visiting the swimming pool
The Finnish Lifesaving Association's tips for the swimming pool:
- The child gets used to the water best when they are in the water
lots of movement, playing and hustling. Any kind of movement in the water also exercises balance. - If you use swimming floats, sometimes also exercise without aids. Please remember that the child will be supervised without interruption, even if the child already knows how to move independently with hand floats or a floating bathing suit.
- Getting used to the movements and splashes of the water and moving independently in the water are the first exercises towards getting wet. Water can also be poured over the child by mutual agreement, or the child can be encouraged to dip his face in the water himself. At this stage, it is good to practice exhaling into the water, blowing bubbles. Don't teach to hold your nose. We prefer to blow nose bubbles. Blowing can be practiced under the guise of play, and children often find bubbles popping out of a parent's mouth funny.
- You can learn to dive and collect objects from the bottom while swimming during immersion exercises. At first, this should be practiced low, and the first experiences of success can be obtained, for example, when the child blows bubbles and reaches for an object, an adult gives the object to the child's hand. Little by little, the child dares to push deeper.
- Remember to always proceed on the child's terms. Children are different and some have to get used to the water
and learning different skills takes time.
when the child's skills accumulate, you can also find more tips for swimming training with the child on the pulahda uimaan website.
Children's swimming goggles
Are swimming goggles necessary for a child or not? This depends a lot on the age of the child, the sensitivity of the eyes, and the things being practiced.
Goggles are not necessary or even necessary in baby swimming, but later one of the most popular pieces of equipment in swimming schools.
With the help of swimming goggles, the child usually dares to put his face in the water more easily, when the water can't cause the eyes to sting. The view also remains brighter than when diving without glasses.
This is how you choose suitable swimming goggles
Testing glasses
1. First read the section on testing swimming goggles in our swimming goggles guide for adults . This is how you can find out if the swimming goggles you are trying on are tight enough and comfortable for your child. Please note, however, that children's swimming goggles do not normally have as strong a suction cup as adult goggles. This is due to softer and larger seals. However, the glass should fit snugly throughout and also create a small suction cup.
2. Also ask how the glasses feel on the child. Children are normally very sensitive to the pressure of the glasses, and if the child feels that the glasses are heavy, it is possible that the glasses will not be used.
Choosing a glass model
For children, there are glasses with both a small and a larger fit.
Greater fit: The pressure is directed further away from the delicate skin around the eyes, so the glasses feel comfortable on the wearer. You will find the best fit in mask-style glasses, which even the most sensitive children usually accept as swimming goggles. However, due to the larger fit, the glasses are not ideal for jumping training, as the glasses can then roll off the head more easily. Best for first swim schools, leisure swimming, and beaches.
Smaller fit: A smaller fit brings a little more pressure, but at the same time the glasses stay on the head better even when jumping. The glasses are excellent for all kinds of swimming use, as well as for younger competitive swimmers.
In children's glasses, you can often also find clever and quick quick-fastening options, i.e. button-adjustable tightenings. This also makes it easier for the child to adjust the glasses to the appropriate tension.
Once the glass has been selected, it is still possible that the glass is available in several lens colors. You can read more about choosing the color of the lenses here.
Children's hand floats or a floating swimsuit?
Our selection includes many different floating swimming aids for small and older children.
All the products in our selection are manufactured according to European safety standards
along, you still have to remember to supervise the child
without interruption, even if the child already knows how to move independently with hand floats
or with a floating bathing suit. However, floating products are a good help
and in the swimming pool and on the beach. Children often like them a lot, and for example
a floating swimsuit encourages a timid child to get used to the water.
Children's hand floats
Inflatable hand floats are the most popular swimming teaching products for children,
due to their small size, they are easy to take with you to the beach or the swimming pool. Our
our selection includes hand floats for children weighing 8 to 30 kg. The floaties keep the child in an upright position, but we recommend a floating swimsuit for a child who is just getting used to the water.
A swimsuit for a child or a floating swimsuit
A swimsuit or a floating swimsuit is a good choice to help the child get to know the water, the jumpsuit has short sleeves and legs, thanks to which the child stays warmer in the water for longer. The swimsuit has a lockable zipper on the front and a velcro fastening. We recommend starting with a floating swimsuit and moving to either a swimsuit or a swimming belt as your skills increase.
What should be considered when choosing a children's swimsuit?
In our selection, you can find swimsuits for babies (0-2 years old), toddlers (2-4 years old) and children and young children (6-16 years old).
Kids swimsuits have a lot of fun patterns and colors that appeal to children.
If you're looking for a swimsuit for the beach or a vacation, we especially recommend clear ones colors like pink swimsuit and orange swimsuit. Stands out in the dark lake water neon colors are best: such as neon green and neon yellow.
Choosing the size of a children's swimsuit - we indicate the sizes in cm if you hesitate between two sizes, we recommend choosing the biggerone in arena children's swimwear size, while Speedo's children's swimsuits fit their size well.
Read more about choosing children's swimwear here.
