As a parent of threeAs a parent of three, I understand that getting everything the kids need for a vacation can sometimes be expensive. However, I've learned many times over, that if it's uncomfortable or it doesn't work as well as the kids think it should (like it shows in the pictures on the box) or doesn't look cool then I have just wasted my money. I want my kids to have fun but as a parent I have to be concerned with the price as well, because everything I do is multiplied at least three times (and that's if their friends arent coming along)! As I looked for a good mask, a good snorkel and a good pair of fins for my kids I was faced with the fact that I had one that was four years old, one that was eight, and one that was nine. All my kids love the water, but they each had some individual problem that had to be overcome. My four-year-old was too short even for the shallow end of the pool so she had to either stand on her tiptoes, swim continually or every little ripple in the pool hit her in the face. The way I solved these problems was simple. By giving her a pair of swim fins that made her a foot taller and by adding a mask that fit, I was able to keep the water out of her face. One down, two to go!
My eight-year-old loves the water but is extremely thin and has zero body fat, so swimming at the surface is very difficult, however he could take a breath and swim underwater forever. This created a unique problem. While snorkeling in the Ocean for 30 or 40 minutes he would drink the equivalent of about a gallon of saltwater. It was extremely fatiguing for him to try and swim continually and keep the snorkel from going underneath the waves or underneath the surface of the water, his upper body strength just wasn't there yet. As his upper body got tired, he would drink even more water and start coughing and sputtering, which is what we all do when a drop of water gets on the back of our throat. The way I solved this problem was simple, by giving him the Ocean Dry Snorkel (which blocks all water from entering the snorkel) whether from a wave going over his head or when he would submerge to pick up a shell off the bottom. The Ocean Dry Snorkel was totally dry when he returned to the surface. This made him tremendously more comfortable; he was not having to try and blast clear water out of the snorkel or pull the snorkel out of his mouth every time he surfaced. The second part of his problem was that he was trying to swim with his arms because his legs didn't provide enough propulsion to keep his head and shoulders above water. A good pair of Speed-XP snorkeling fins solved this problem and allowed him to relax his upper arms and swim by just kicking his feet.
My nine-year-old is a great swimmer and is at home in the water, however, she needed a mask that would fit her face without leaking (when she smiled the water would just pour in her mask) so she would continually try and tighten the mask strap until it was very uncomfortable. The second problem I had with her was trying to untangle her hair from the snorkel and mask straps. I solved both of these problems by finding "scuba diving quality" masks, the "Mini Oceanview" and the "Ocean Tang". These masks were designed for children with 100% silicone skirts and tempered glass lenses for extra safety. By adding a comfortable "Adjust-a-Strap to the mask I was able to tighten and loosen the mask strap easily while it was on her face. This also solved the problem of getting their hair tangled up, as is it is virtually tangle free when used properly.
Another problem parents have to think about is that all kids get cold, even in tropical water (because it's still 15-30 degrees colder than our body temperature). Kids burn energy at such a high rate they get cold, so the best thing to do for a snorkeling vacation is to get them into a Shorty style wetsuit.
Here are the lessons that I learned in a nutshell:
1 The younger they are-the better the equipment needs to be
2 The less they can swim-the better the equipment needs to fit and perform
3 The less comfortable they are in the water-the better the equipment needs to fit to keep the water out
4 If they get cold -they don't have as much fun
5 If they snorkel for hours-their backsides will be sunburned (No-even the eight hour waterproof suntan lotion washes off after 30 minutes in the ocean) so you need some form of "snorkel/dive skin" or wetsuit
If there are jellyfish in the ocean that you're going to go snorkeling or diving in, then a "snorkel/dive skin" or wetsuit is excellent protection against their stinging cells. Talk about a great way to ruin a vacation--let your six-year-old bump into a jellyfish!
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