How to select swim wear for your child – Swim Rite Aquatic School

This article is written for children who are learning how to swim in an outdoor environment in a tropical climate.

Children learn better in a conducive environment when their body is not fighting against the elements such as windchill, cold water or scorching heat. A swimming attire that protects a child from environmental factors is more likely to help the children focus and perform swim drills.

Conversely, over-dressing a child might inhibit limbs movement. Tight attire restrict movement, loose or material not made for swimming becomes heavy when wet hence creating drags.

Here are some considerations and recommendations when purchasing swimwear for your child.

One-piece swimwear. Material sticks to body when wet, child will have difficulties raising their arms.

One-piece shorty, not much better from above.

Religion

If a religion requires your child’s limbs to be covered, do check if the selected swimwear restricts his/her arms or legs movement. Your child should be able to rotate his/her arms in circles comfortably, think of front crawl (freestyle) arms. Also, he/she should be able to squat easily, think of breaststroke kick. A two-piece is more suitable than a one-piece suit.

Age

Infants and Toddlers below three years are more prone to heat loss hence it is important to dress them appropriately. Shorty thermal suit is usually the preference since they are not learning the swimming strokes yet.

Learning level

A child who is learning to swim usually starts with breath management through bubbles blowing and water confidence exercises, there is no significant limbs movement. However, when your child begins to learn swimming strokes, it is vital that their swim attire does not affect their range of motion. The ideal attire will be a trunk for boys and a one-piece fitting swimsuit for girls. Alternatively, a two-piece suit will work as well.

Also, thermal suit provides excellent heat insulation however they create a false sense of buoyancy which make it unsuitable when child is learning the strokes.

An effective teacher will be able to structure the program so that your child stays comfortable during class. Believe me; your child loves the sun, hence don’t cover them from head to toes.