Kids’ first snorkel?

[CookieMonster]

Hi. I’m a longtime (though unfortunately not recently) diver taking my just-turned-seven-year-olds snorkeling for the first time in 2020. Seeking recommendations please for the best snorkels for their comfort. Obviously purge valve at the bottom and some sort of splash protection on top. Saw descriptions for “dry” snorkels with a valve on top to prevent water from coming in even when submerged but don’t know anything about these and not familiar with new technology/top brands these days. Plan is to purchase now and get them comfortable in the pool before our trip. TIA for info/suggestions and happy new year!

 

[stepfen]

I think that mask fitting and hence comfort is MUCH more important than the snorkel.
The mask should fit very good without the straps being tight at all or the kids might feel uncomfortable and not like them at all.

About the snorkel, don't expect the kids to master their use eg blow air to empty a snorkel with even the smallest amount of water in it at this stage. For now the moment the kid will feel anything "wrong" with the snorkel (eg water in it), they will instinctively remove it from their mouth and breath fresh air. Better safe than sorry. Hence I think self draining snorkel sounds a bit useless for this age. If they are otherwise comfortable in the water (are they good swimmers already?) that will be no problem. They will just pause for few seconds and continue. Hence I wouldn't worry about the "quality" of the snorkel at this stage.

Also keep in mind that they might refuse altogether even to try donning the mask/snorkel just because.

All these are from the experience I had with my kids who started around 4 years old. My daughter from 5yo could snorkel for more than 30 mins and free dive down to 3m/10ft picking up shells and stuff. BTW fins help her a lot to swim and with them she can stay afloat for much much longer than without.

My son (now 5 yo) still refuses even to try. YMMV

 

[David Wilson]

There are national and international standards prescribing different dimensions for adult and children's snorkels:

Snorkel (swimming) - Wikipedia
The latest (2015) European Standard EN 1972 recommends choosing a snorkel with a maximum total length of 350 mm and a maximum total inner volume of 150 cc for users with smaller lung capacity, which includes children. A snorkel exceeding these limits could strain a child's lungs when breathing through the tube or when blowing residual water out of it.

 

[dlofting]

I bought Aqualung junior sets for my 7 year old granddaughter and my 3 year old grandson. I think they were smalls but I'm not sure. They weren't very expensive and were available at our local outdoor store. Both love them and the younger one snorkels all over the pool even though he hasn't really learned to swim yet (without the snorkel). Water in the snorkel doesn't seem to both him much. Masks seem to fit them both quite well. I'd just try something that looks OK to you and suits your budget.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Both my sons had their first set of fins, mask and snorkel around 12 - 14 months, and around 2 years they were snorkeling in the sea with much fun.
Always using very simple snorkels with no valves.
I did teach them to never keep the snorkel in mouth while freediving, nor evacuate it when emerging.
Now they are grown up, and the younger (now 24) plays underwater hockey since 8 years.
In this sport you freedive keeping the snorkel in mouth, and evacuating it when emerging, taking one-two breaths, and down again.
But this is not the safe way for children....
So I suggest that you buy a very simple, child-size snorkel, and do not worry about teachjng how to evacuate it. Better to learn to always remove it from mouth.