Hey Mommies... snorkeling w/ toddlers?

[XJae]

You shouldn't have a problem finding a mask and snorkle set, toddler size.
We have an Oceanic set and a Deep Sea set, both fitting thin faces.
A bigger challenge was finding fins.
Most fins I saw at first were closed heel sized 9-11, which were too big for a street size of 11.
I finally found a set of open heeled 9-11, from U.S. Divers.
This turned out to be the way to go.
My 4 yr old (yellow) is wearing a neoprene booty and my 6 yr old (blue) is barefoot.
There is definately room to grow, next size up is 1-3 and fits a size 11 with booties.
Snorkling

 

[brownturtle]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I took my daughter to a lds last night and had pretty good luck. It turns out the woman who owns & operates the shop (YES! a female run dive shop!) has an 8 yr old son, so she knows a few things about kids gear. We found fins and booties that are a bit big but should work and we found a nice child sized dry snorkel, too. The hardest part now will be a mask. They had a few there that we tried but none would seal on her. The problem isn't width but height. When the top of the skirt is far enough down to be out of her hair (she has lots of it) the bottom is over her lip. Anyone know of a kids mask that's especially short?


I also saw one of theese
http://www.makeityours.net/bobber.html
that I think will work for a life vest alternative. Anyone tried this? I'm still going to check Target's clearance section first. Maybe I can find something cheaper there.


Another thing I thought of today- any tips on preventing little ones from drinking the water in the pool and in the shower/bath? Last time we went we let her use her pacifier in the pool and shower and it worked great. She never drank any of it. However, she hasn't used a pacifier for a very long time and I'm not about to reintroduce it just for this trip. Any BTDT tricks?


Nisi

 

[wrinkles]

a five year old son..not a toddler anymore but really loves to snorkel. I am hoping to attach a pic so you can see.

My LDS gave him everything he needed so he would be warm in the Catalina water i took him to.

Ana

 

[cobaltbabe]

What a cute kid Ana. You must be very proud.

 

[art.chick]

Kids are getting into the swim younger and younger partly because parents are staying active after starting a family and grandparents are not considered too old to dive when the wee ones are starting out. I think snorkelling is a fine family sport. But of course the question of how much; how fast arises.

I had been working with kids in snorkelling and SASY last year. I have only tried working with 2 kids that young. COnstant supervision was the only trick I had up my wetsuit sleeve. Whether I am working with a group of kids or a single child, the need for close watching is paramount. I know that you realize that, but sometimes adults get a false sense of security when there is a device or training for the child. Much of the water experience has had more to do with the maturity level of the kids than the type of device being used. Certain kids are very daring in the water, and even if they push the envelope, they tend to do pretty well. Your best bet may be recruiting other adults who are strong in the water to work with this little spitfire. If you pass her around, she will not tire out just one person. ANd I agree 100% with the comment about not letting her tantrums dictate policy.

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

wrinkles:

Cute picture. One day when I have kids I want them to be water babies right from the start. If I don't have kids then I have promised my sister that my nieces would be water babies as well.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

NatureDiver once bubbled...
One day when I have kids I want them to be water babies right from the start. If I don't have kids then I have promised my sister that my nieces would be water babies as well.

Not trying to hijack the thread or anything, but wanted to add my comments on making kids water babies. My kid who is now eight, has been in the water since infancy. (Living here in the south, we can swim almost year round.) I bought her snorkel, fins, and mask, but she didn't like it. So I bought other gear. She finally got used to wearing the mask. And this year she learned to snorkel.
Point I am trying to make is- as much as I wanted her to learn to snorkel, until she was ready and had the confidence in herself, she was not gonna do it. So why push it for my ego? Tough lesson, but now she loves it! She is also old enough to learn safety and the risks.

On a side note: The day she finally figured out how to snorkel, we were swimming along, I was showing her all the fishes telling her what they were. Then I pointed to a bigger fish. I asked her what it was, she didn't know. Answer: Barracuda. You should of seen those eyes get big and the look on her face of seeing one!
Next lesson learned- Showing her a barracuda before she knew what it was, lessoned the fear she could develop of them.

 

[wrinkles]

I agree with not pushing a child to do something they dont want to do.

My son begs to go diving with me when i go and i tell him he is too young still to go with me. Being a single mom my son tends to be with me all the time and feels left out when i go diving.

I decided to let him try snorkling and see how he liked it. He loved it and can already identify fish. Actually the day before we went to Dr. Bills house and saw some sea bass footage ...well when we went in the water we saw one. My son stuck his head out of the water and told me a "look mom a sea bass" it was wonderful. He can identify most kelp fish because he loves them and loves to see them from glass bottom boats, tv, magazines and so forth. He loved snorkling and being able to see them in real life. I couldnt get him out of the water. LOL Spent a week in Catalina campinging and snorlikng together Lots of fun.

By the way my son takes his bath with his mask on LOL.

Thanks for all compliaments about my son....i did a great job with him LOL

Ana

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

I agree of course. We don't want to force the child to do this stuff if they don't want to. We don't want to make them hate the sport.

 

[TJisthe1]

My 4 year old snorkels with me every chance we get, his one problem is clearing the mask, he usually floods it instead of clearing it but it doesnt bother him anymore. As for flotation we use the foam filled BC that you can rent from your LDS for sassy or bubble makers. Works great and he likes wearing it cause he thinks hes a scuba diver like mom and dad!!!