How can i make sure my child is safe in the pool?

For children under 4 years old, the best way to introduce them to the experience is to do so in a pool suited to their size, which you can install in your garden. While they are getting used to the water, small collapsible or inflatable pools are a perfect transition before moving up to a larger swimming pool. When the time is right, take your child to the pool! It is the best place for them to get to grips with the water and learn to swim. Especially if you have several children, because you will be under the watchful eye of lifeguards, which is always reassuring. 

To make happy memories in the water, there are plenty of products out there to help young swimmers get their bodies in the right position for learning to swim. These products provide excellent buoyancy and allow you and your child to feel confident and safe.

You can, for example, get them to wear inflatable armbands, which pack away nice and small, or foam armbands, which are puncture-proof, to get their first contact with the water off to a good start. A swim seat is also a good compromise for little ones. It gets your little swimmer into a comfortable position to discover what is going on around them, while you pull them around using the handles at the sides. Get them to play floating games to encourage them to move around in the pool. All these accessories will make your little one feel comfortable and will keep them safe by stopping them from going under the water.

Once they have discovered the water, the next step is taking your children to the beach, a lake or the sea, or going on holiday to a place with a swimming pool. You will need to be constantly vigilant and, ideally, with your children in the water. This is also the perfect time to come up with some fun games to help them improve their swimming technique while under your supervision.

If you have a lilo or a giant swim ring to play on in the water, be careful! These are not flotation devices and if your child slips off the object somewhere they cannot touch the bottom, you need to be able to intervene quickly.

Even if your children are playing quietly in the sand on the beach, you still need to watch them. It is not uncommon for little ones to suddenly wander off to look for water without any concept of danger and without an inkling of fear. Once at the water's edge they may not realise they are going too far in and without their buoyancy aids. As a rule of thumb, if the children leave the area of your towels or parasol, be on your guard!

Are you going on holiday to a villa with a swimming pool? Playing in the pool will occupy a good part of your days! But before that, establish some simple rules: no one goes in the water or around the pool on their own. And lock up the pool as soon as you plan to move away from it.

Want to make sure your kids are always in sight? Set up some pool games for them. Dodgeball, water polo, ball games or rings to retrieve from the pool or the sea floor, the goal is to keep them occupied, tire them out and stay close so that you can watch them without them getting bored! And once play time is over, follow it with snack time as a family.

What about smaller pools in the garden?

Never leave little ones alone in inflatable or collapsible pools. One of the rules we give to parents the first time they take their kids in the water is to never let them out of their sight, regardless of how deep the water is. And you can play pool games with them to get them used to the aquatic environment!

To make the most of this brand new playground, children need to become familiar with the aquatic world from an early age, then learn to swim as soon as possible. This will then allow them to have fun in the water in complete safety.