If you’ve been reading my posts, you know that recently we got into caravanning. It’s been both exciting and tough at times. I guess the biggest challenge was getting used to the fact that nature can’t be childproofed. But after few road trips, it all started to sync in. Both good and bad experiences have helped me learn how to fit caravanning into our lives. And to let go. Those close to me, know that I’m all about routine. And sticking to the routine is hard when outdoors is your kids’ playground. So I learned to be a bit more flexible. Routine wise that is.

Still, in my book, establishing a routine means keeping kids secure. And safe. Especially when a weekend adventure involves open water. Moreover, for children to be able to join in the swimming fun, they need to feel comfortable in the water. Which is why I enrolled my kids in swimming lessons. And got all the necessary swimming gear of course.

To get kids excited about swimming lesson, I rented “Free Willy” and played few educational videos on basics of swimming including the importance of water safety. But all the excitement kicked in when we went swimming gear shopping. As expected, Noah and Ethan were focused on colours (the brighter, the better) and I was focused on quality and functionality.

Finding the right fit was the important factor for me. For Ethan I chose jammers as they fit tight, provide more coverage and allow for more freedom of movement. Plus, they are made from Speedo’s endurance fabric, which means they are 100% chlorine resistant and will last longer than the average lycra material. Noah wanted his swimming gear to look just like his brother’s, so I got him the same jammers model just smaller in size.

Goggles wise, I also went for quality and not for the ‘cool’ factor. Pools often contain high levels of chlorine and other chemicals to keep the water free of bacteria which can irritate eyes. Avoiding chlorine irritation was more important than colour and design. For Ethan I got junior goggles which feature soft skirt (for superior comfort and leak resistance) and offer a 180 degrees panoramic. For Noah, we got the Speedo Junior Sea Squad Swimming goggles which feature a super comfortable silicone seal. In addition to swimsuits and goggles, we got Disney-inspired beach towel and swimming caps.

And even though they were both super excited about their new swimming gear and other (unnecessary) gadgets, first day of swimming class didn’t go without a tear or two. Yes, I followed experts’ advice of ‘taking your child to pool prior to his first class so he can get familiar with the size, depth, and temperature of the pool’, but Noah cried anyway. At the beginning of the class that is. He got more comfortable as the lesson went on and all in all, really enjoyed the whole experience. Ethan had absolutely no fear nor any kind of reservation and loved splashing around.