Swimming

Swimming, swimming in the swimming pool!

Our children have all swam since they were babies as it is a life skill I think every child should have.

We are now at the stage where they are all confident in the water and it is just Sebby that needs a water aid to swim, although I don’t think it will be long until he can swim completely unaided too.

Before Christmas Isaac had a trial with Bournemouth Swimming Club who are a competitive swimming team associated with the ASA and I am very proud to say that he was accepted and we have now entered the world of competitive swimming training.

He started this week and we have gone from swimming half an hour a week, to two or three hours a week. We were advised to start at two, but he wants to do three so we are seeing how it goes.

Swimming

So far they are impressed with his technique, in particular his butterfly, however he needs to work on his breaststroke and get the confidence to dive in the pool off the podium – to be fair, I would be nervous of doing that too.

Eliza is back to do doing her mermaid impression and spends most of her time underwater, however she is also progressing well with Individuality Swimming and her target for this term is to achieve her 100m badge.

She was sent a gorgeous Zoggs swimsuit to review over Christmas and she was keen to try it out.

Zoggs Swimsuit

The Junior Girls Rascals Bella Crossback swimsuit is for girls aged 6-15 years and features a fantastic all-over digital print of ‘Rascals’ cartoon characters for a bright and bold swimsuit.

The open back and crossover straps allow for excellent flexibility and freedom of movement in the back and shoulders, making this swimsuit ideal for regular and competitive swimmers and as it is made from Zoggs 100% chlorine proof Aqualast™ fabric with a lifetime guarantee, it is durable, resistant to snagging and offers excellent shape retention.

We also received some pool toys for when we go swimming as a family and I cannot wait to try them out.

Zoggs

Isaac did water polo for a time, but sadly the classes stopped as they were not popular enough, however, now we can practice some of the skills he learned with the Zoggs neoprene pool ball.

Both Isaac and Eliza love diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve sinkers, so we were also sent some dive balls, which you can throw as far as you can and then dive down ro retrieve and some Clam hunt shells, which we can see who can find first.

As for Sebby, well he went back to Turtle Tots this week and we found our class had grown by one, so the old “baby swimming crew” were back together. Because they all know each other they bounce off each other really well and it made each toddler swim better as they wanted to keep up with their friends which was lovely to watch.

Turtle Tots

I have bought Isaac a lovely pair of Jammers in the Zoggs sale for his swimming sessions and this afternoon I am taking him to our local swim shop to buy the rest of the equipment he needs. I think this may be an expensive hobby!!

Does your child enjoy swimming?

Konfidence Floatsuit Review

When we were chosen as Konfidence ambassadors we were sent a pack of Konfidence goodies to try out which included a Konfidence Floatsuit. As Sebastian had been having swimming lessons previously for around 18 months and was very water confident and able to swim with a woggle I was unsure if we would use it, however I packed it in our case when we went on holiday to Turkey with the intention of trying it out.

The Konfidence Floatsuit is made from comfortable soft Lycra fabric for children aged 1-5 years. They work on the same principle as the Konfidence™ Buoyancy Jackets with eight individual removable floats are worn in outer pockets which can easily be removed for tailored buoyancy as the child grows, develops and learns water confidence. They also come in a range of adorable and fun designs, and all with 50+ UPF sun protection on covered areas, making them great for holidays too.

They make two styles of Floatsuit – the traditional swimsuit style and the combination Sunsuit/Floatsuit styles which is the one we had. Both stay ‘fixed’ on the child, and hold the child in the correct position to aid swimming.

Sebastian wasn’t sure when he put it on, after all he is used to swimming in just an aqua nappy, but once he was in the water I was genuinely shocked by the difference it made. He was off and swimming by himself!!

Konfidence Floatsuit

The suit held him in the correct position and he was off and swimming between Daddy, Kian and myself. Normally when holding him in the pool he doesn’t really kick or paddle much because he knows we are holding on to him, but with this suit on he was really motoring around the pool and you could see the sheer delight in his face that he was swimming by himself.

With Sebastian wearing the Floatsuit it also made us more relaxed in the water and although he was closely supervised all the time, it meant we also had a hand free to play with Isaac and Eliza and having a 50+ UPF sun protection rating I was satisfied he was safe from the sun too.

Konfidence Floatsuit

The Floatsuit is designed using quality high content Nylon Lycra that is comfortable against a child’s bare skin and comes in some fabulous designs, ranging from the Breton Stripe inspired Original Floatsuits to the fun and funky clownfish UV protective Sunsuit style. Sebastian has the Octonauts Floatsuit, with Captain Barnacles on the front.

Priced at £23.99 the Konfidence Floatsuit is perfect for taking on holiday and using at the local pool to help teach your child to swim.