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Swimming in the Sea
Swimming in the sea is an enjoyable part of being on holiday. However, swimming in the sea is not the same as swimming in a pool. The sea can have unpredictable currents, unseen rocks and lots of other swimmers. Bush up on your swimming skills before you leave and take children for refresher swimming lessons if they need it. If you’ve got children get in the sea with them – it’s easier to keep an eye on them and good fun to boot. Remember children should always be supervised in or near water.
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One thing to consider is to take a picture of your children when they are dressed in their swimming attire. That way in the very unlikely event they go missing you can show the picture to others if you need to.
Be aware of your local surroundings and always follow safety signs and local signage. Check for warning flags and if the beach has lifeguards have a chat about where the best place for trouble free swimming is on the beach.
Beware of dangerous beach currents, these can be very powerful and cant take even a strong swimmers by surprise. Ask locally if there are any known dangerous currents or dangers caused by the tides and avoid swimming in these areas. Learn how to spot a riptide.
Beware of underwater hazards, such as reefs, rocks, sudden changes in depth and marine life.
Only dive in where allowed, and don’t dive or jump from rocks or piers.
Seek safety advice from your travel reps, hoteliers or local people about the best local beaches to go to and anything that you might need to be aware of, especially beach currents. Talk to children about water safety at the start of a holiday, making them aware of the potential dangers. Remember, not all beaches have lifeguards.
Never swim alone, ‘buddy up’ with others in your party. Accidents can happen at any time on holiday. Statistically speaking you are more likely to have an accident on the first or last day – so keep watch and don’t get distracted when your children are playing by or in the water.
Children should be supervised by an adult at all times and never left unattended, even if a lifeguard is present.
Never swim at night, after drinking alcohol.
Know how and where to get help, if you see someone in difficulty; raise the alarm preferably the emergency services – ensure you know the correct number for the country you’re in.
Don’t overestimate your ability, consider having lessons before you go if you think you might need them to learn proper swimming technique.
Even if you regularly swim in a pool, remember that swimming in the sea can be very different.
Swimming in a private pool
If you're lucky enough to be staying in your own villa or apartment with a private swimming pool you'll still need to be aware of certain aspects for safe swimming.
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Be vigilant, you're in your own pool, accidents happen and you need to watch your children as you would in the sea or a public pool.
One of the most common injuries sustained whilst on holiday is people diving into the shallow end of the swimming pool and hitting the bottom. Make sure you and your children know which end is the deep end. Speaking of the deep end, it might not be as deep as you think and an adult diving in could still make contact with the bottom, its good practise to get to know the depth of the pool before you dive in.
Swimming in a public pool
Swimming in a public pool
Public swimming pools tend to be larger as they have to cater for larger groups of people. Many of the same rules to follow are in the private pools section on this page.
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Public pools will usually have an open and closing time. Also, there are usually life guards at public pools. One thing to consider is to take a picture of your children when they are dressed in their swimming attire. That way in the very unlikely event they go missing you can show the picture to others if you need to.
Water Parks
Swimming in a public pool
Going to a water park is often the highlight of the holiday for your children. It usually means spending the day there so here are some tips on how best to enjoy your day.
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One thing to consider is to take a picture of your children when they are dressed in their swimming attire. That way in the very unlikely event they go missing you can show the picture to others if you need to.
You will be outside, in the sun, most of the day. You need to dress accordingly to keep from getting sunburned, experiencing heat stroke, or getting dehydrated. This includes wearing water shoes, such as flip flops, sliders or crocs, a hat and a baggy t-shirt when you need a break from the water, and sunglasses. Be sure to keep a close eye on children and monitor how much time they have in the direct sunlight.
Its common sense to apply waterproof sunscreen every 30 minutes before you arrive at the park and reapply it throughout the day (you'd be surprised at the number of people who don't). Waterproof sun cream needs to be reapplied every 60 minutes, if you’ve been in the water, especially if you've towelled yourself off between applications.
Being in the heat all day and playing in the water will dehydrated you rather quickly. Drink plenty of fluids and try to avoid any caffeinated sodas or drinks with artificial sweeteners. These drinks will contribute to dehydration. Water is always your best option. You'll need more water than you usually drink when inside because you'll perspire out a lot of the hydration.
Sun Safe
lets face it, almost all of us go on holiday to escape the "unpredictable" British summer. For most of us that means Sun, and lots of it. The last thing you or your children need is a bad case of sun burn ruining your holiday. To avoid sun burn you'll need sun cream, the water proof kind. SPF factor 50 for children, and applied every 30 minutes. Its always best to go prepared before you travel, if you buy your sun cream when on holiday, you'll almost certainly pay a premium for it. We recommend full swim suits for younger children of 3 -7 years. They cover the arms and legs so will reduce the amount of sun cream needed to protect them.
Resist the temptation to get personalized swim suits advertising your child's name. Consider, bright colours that makes your child easier to spot when swimming in the sea or the swimming pool.
Swimming Aids
If your children haven't yet learned to swim on their own they'll need some buoyancy aids. There are a bewildering selection of armbands, woggles, floats and swim vests to choose from.
At Aqua Seals we use woggles (long floating tubes) and swim discs (arm bands). We recommend the swim discs when going on holiday. They're made from EVA foam , which means they don't need inflating/deflating. They weigh next to nothing and are also slim so shouldn't take up too much room in your suitcase.