When you’re looking for ways to help your little ones get comfortable and engaged in the water, think about pool toys.
But also remember that ensuring that your children are safe with pool toys requires that you follow some pool toys rules.
Check Your Toys Before Your Kids Use Them
Lots of things can happen if it’s been a few months since pool toys were last stowed away. By checking for holes, cracks, and even bugs when pulling out toys for the pool, you make it possible for your kids to have fun and develop confidence from the very beginning! From damage to rust or hibernating or nesting animals, it’s better if you find these things and fix them prior to putting the toys in the pool for your child’s use so that you ensure fun and safety for your kids with the toy and the pool.
Clean Your Pool Toys
It’s important to clean your pool toys to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria. Don’t depend on your pool’s chlorine to be enough to take care of slimy buildup and bacterial growth. A good soak in a bucket with diluted bleach will help clean them up. Rinse them before letting your child play with them. Also be sure to squeeze water out of the toys to before you put them away.
Take your pool toys out of the pool when you’re finished and keep them in a cool, dry place so clean up with be easier next time!
Review Pool Safety Before Use
Go over safety rules before your kids are allowed to grab their favorite toy and hop into the pool. You may feel terribly repetitive but something this important warrants redundancy. After all, it’s the repetitiveness of these safety rules that will commit them to your child’s memory.
Don’t just make it a speech, but make reviewing safety rules a conversation. Quiz your child to see how much they remember from the last time you reviewed the rules and celebrate when they get them right!
What are the 3 favorite pool toys and the rules that will help you use them safely?
Pool Noodles
Pool noodles are fun for beginning and experienced swimmers as they can double for a horse, a submarine, a swing, or an eel, but they cannot double as a floatation device.
- A pool noodle is not a lifejacket or floatation device. Did we just say that? Yep. But we repeat it because – regardless of how many times it is said – there is someone who tries to use it for floatation.
- Only one person on a noodle at a time. Noodles are very buoyant but are meant for only one swimmer at a time.
- Discourage use of the noodle as a waterspout. It may seem like a fun game when kids use the hole in the middle of the noodle to spout water at their friends, but if they accidentally suck in and get choked on water and swallow bacteria.
Flippers and/or Snorkel
Snorkeling can be great fun and – with the proper tips – safe too!
- Only swimmers who are comfortable holding their breath and being underwater should use flippers and a snorkel, therefore beginning swimmers shouldn’t use these toys.
- Be aware of other swimmers! Since flippers are longer than feet, kids may kick others who are swimming around them. It’s a best practice to use flippers and a snorkel in an area where others aren’t swimming.
- Check the snorkel before use because a dysfunctional or broken snorkel can mean breathing issues while in the pool. You also want to check that the snorkel is clean.
- A child should practice going underwater with a snorkel and coming back up with an adult close by before going off to play with the toys.
Snorkels can be a great way for advanced swimmers to learn how to hold their breath with the snorkel in, dive, and return to the surface. Remember to teach them to blow out the remaining water when they resurface before taking another breath. Children should always have direct adult supervision when using the flippers and snorkel.
The Kickboard
The kickboard is a great toy that helps children to work on kicking.
Make sure your children are kicking with safety by:
- Children should watch where they are kicking. Just like with flippers, it’s important to make sure your children are aware of their surroundings while using the kickboard. There may be people behind them.
- The kickboard isn’t for standing. It might resemble a surfboard, but it isn’t one.
- The kickboard isn’t a sole flotation device. Just like with the pool noodles, kickboards are meant to assist with kicking and swimming, not as a replacement for flotation devices or as a crutch in the deep end.
Have fun with these pool toys! It’s even more fun when no one gets hurt! That’s why safety rules are important.
Water safety of every kind is very important to Little Otter Swim School and is a critical component of the lessons provided there. Learn more about what makes Little Otter Swim School different.
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