Speedo event day feedback: non attendees: all your comment about swimming to win a Speedo goodie bag! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

This thread is for the Mumsnetters who attended the Speedo 'Underwater World' VIP event on Tuesday 29thOctober.

Here's what Speedo have to say, "After new research revealed that 81% of kids wished they could go swimming more often and that a third would rather get a new badge for swimming than be able to ride a bike without stabilisers, Speedo wanted to celebrate this by hosting a unique Underwater World event for kids and parents."

Non-attendees: Is swimming something you do with the whole family? Have you got any tips to share on how to introduce your children to swimming? Everyone who adds their comments or tips about getting kids in the water will be entered into a prize draw to win a Speedo goodie bag.

Attendees: Below are a few questions for you to answer but please feel free to add any other comments you may have.

• What was your and your DCs overall experience of the Speedo VIP day? Could you describe the day to non attenders?

• Did you find the swimming lessons and Q&A with the Speedo ambassador helpful and informative, or not? If so, why? If not, why not? What questions did you ask and what response did you get?

• What did you think about the Speedo products shown to you on the day? Did you like them, or not? Do you think you'd be likely to purchase any in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?

• What was your DCs highlight of the day?

• Do you think the day overall helped encourage your children, and yourself perhaps, to go swimming more often and / or to learn to swim?

If you took any pictures on the day feel free to upload them onto this thread. Remember, however, only to take and upload pictures of your own children.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

[idleweiss]

What was your and your DCs overall experience of the Speedo VIP day? Could you describe the day to non attenders?

We had a great day! It was both my DDs first time in a swimming pool so it was all very exciting. They loved the pool, decorated with the balloons and full of fun water toys. There were lots of products to look at and try out in the water, a chance to pick up some great swimming tips, talk to other mums and have a lovely lunch too!

Did you find the swimming lessons and Q&A with the Speedo ambassador helpful and informative, or not? If so, why? If not, why not? What questions did you ask and what response did you get?

I found the swimming lesson and tips I received very useful and will be using the swimming exercises I learnt with my little ones everytime we go swimming now to strengthen the skills they need to swim. Most of my questions were answered before I could answer them, which was great! I took a lot on board and feel more confident about going swimming with my DDs.

What did you think about the Speedo products shown to you on the day? Did you like them, or not? Do you think you'd be likely to purchase any in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?

A lot of the products were great, some of the prints were a bit garish for me though! I loved the swim vest for little ones, it had great buoyancy and was a good fit. I liked that it could be worn as a float costume or you could just unpopper the bottoms and wear as a vest, great for swimming outdoors. I also liked the poncho towels and the swimming aids/toys as did my DDs, they wear fun and useful! I really want to get some of those long tube floats we used in the pool, they were great! :)

What was your DCs highlight of the day?

My 3yr old loved getting to go swimming in the pool as well as here awesome sea squad pack, the yummy lunch and the balloons! My 15 month old particularly loved one of the swimming exercises when we pretended to ride a horse (the tube float!) around the pool whilst singing Horsey Horsey as well as the little octopus/fish floating toys and the lunch, she ate so much! :)

you think the day overall helped encourage your children, and yourself perhaps, to go swimming more often and / or to learn to swim?

Yes!! My little ones have caught the swimming bug now and have asked several times since if we can go swimming and I am also looking into local lessons. I myself usually hate going to public swimming pools and have not been for years, but seeing my little ones so happy and having fun has made me want to go for their sake and put my anxieties aside.

[idleweiss]

Hi, where can I post pics. I can't seen to do it on this thread! Thanks :)

[mummyofcutetwo]

Non-attendee

Both my boys go to swimming lessons. My 5yo started lessons just after he turned five, but had been swimming every now and then since six weeks old. My 19mo started lessons (with me in with him) when he was just 1yo, but had been going to the pool since he was a few weeks old. We don't go swimming as a family as often as we'd like, but we do love it and if it wasn't for the cost and my husband's work schedule we'd definitely go much more frequently. I sometimes put the little one in nursery so I can take the bigger one swimming as I can't take them both on my own due to their ages.

I think the best things to do include taking them from a young age, pouring water over their heads and most of all making trips to the pool fun, and giving them praise for the things they do right.

[PacificDogwood]

I was a non-attendee although would've loved to be there.
Any chance for a similar even in Scotland??

Is swimming something you do with the whole family?
As a rule, yes. I am by far the keener swimmer than DH, but as we have 4 children with the youngest under 4 we are still not allowed to go swimming with all kids and only 1 adult at the local (council) pool. Which is a nonsense IMO - my 2 older sons swim well on their own and I am more than capable to look after the younger 2 in the kids' pool where I can stand. So, poor DH gets dragged along, but not half as often as I would like to go with them.

Have you got any tips to share on how to introduce your children to swimming?
Start early and keep going . Enjoy the water - it's not a competition about whose child learns to swim the youngest. I think some kids get formal swimming lessons too young. Splash about, get them to not be scared of water, play 'dead man'. Teach them to properly swim when they ask to be taught. 'Fun pools' with slides and waterfalls etc can be a great way to make it fun.

Gawd, I love swimming and wish I did more of it!

[RueDeWakening]

Non-attendees: Is swimming something you do with the whole family? Have you got any tips to share on how to introduce your children to swimming?

We have no choice but to swim as a family due to having 3 kids and the council not permitting more than 2 under 9s per adult swimmer. So it's another 3 years before I can take all of them on my own... As a result we swim rarely at home, the big 2 have weekly term-time swimming lessons. When we go away in the summer we swim every day - we stay with family abroad who have their own pool, I wish the British weather and my finances were more conducive to that option :o

Re introducing children to swimming, just make it fun. Don't push them to start with, and wait for the right time to try getting them swimming without aids. Teach them how to keep themselves safe. Give them an inflatable jet ski with attached water pistol and tell them to shoot granddad on sight.

[babyowl]

Sounds like a fab day, would have loved to have been there.

Have done mainly family swim sessions on & off since dd was around 4 months of so. Found swimming before dd could properly walk more trouble than it was worth most of the time due to her not doing much & then getting cold within 30mins. You might as well just fill a very large bath for you both at that stage then you can regulate your own temperature controls.
Once dd could walk I could finally get changed & have a shower without the worry of watching where she was & having to do things one-handed.
Still dd was always keen to go swimming & loved being there.

So, tried doing some lessons when she was 4 but she didn't like the temperature of the pool (27/28C too cold), being asked to try doing "scary" stuff like jump in the pool, the regularity of going once a week after school & not seeing Mummy/feeling Mummy was too far away (parents were forbidden to be poolside, only in viewing gallery). So after the first 3 happy lessons, the next 5 were full of tears & anxiety. "Mummy, don't want to go swimming. Don't like swimming!" were the first words she would wake up with on swimming days. Didn't bother returning for the last 2 lessons as she was so unhappy & nothing the centre staff had suggested was helping.

Anyway after a de-swim-schooling period, where we had to try to get her to slowly remember the fun side of swimming again, we've gone back to doing family swims. She herself has tried out doing most of the things that her ex-teacher had tried to get her to do & regained confidence. We now try to do family swims a couple of times a month around the same time that lessons are going on at one side of a shallow pool so that she can see what the other kids are asked to do in an informal way & also try things out if she wants the challenge.

I learnt to swim when I was a teenager, so I do remember what learning to swim was like. I think the main thing is just learning to get used to the water, using the floats or whatever to help develop your arm & leg movements before you put it all together & trying things out in your own time & on terms you are comfortable with.

[kateandme]

dont tell the kids about the dangers first.getting them excited to be in the water is the main thing to do.children are for better for worst more sensitvive and scared of things these days.we have to accomodate that now.
lessons with other children if an option are great,they are boring for us parents yes but getting in with the piers can be really helpful.
let them jump in,let them play dont be all about the leanring to swim,craw,backstroke.they then see others doing 'really cool' strokes and diving under and wnat to learn.
treading water is a great one to learn.make sure they are aware of dangers but let them love the water too.then once out once they can have fun sit them down and try and lety them know a few things.
about the pool,sea and lake swimming.the dangers.the things to know.how to get help.
if a child is scared,let them hold onto a float.one they can hold out in front of them is great for learning how to kick the legs properly.

half the time they just want to play,catch.or mess around any ways.

[arfishy]

Non-attendees:
Is swimming something you do with the whole family?

As a baby I took DD to baby swimming classes and prior to two years old regularly to leisure pools in the UK. Usually just the two of us but sometimes with DH too. We used to take the two elder boys to leisure pools regularly for flumes/wave pools. There was never really any question of them not wanting to go or needing to introduce them to a pool. We got them into the water really young (I originally started the baby classes in a very warm hydrotherapy pool).

We moved to Australia when she was 2 and the approach to swimming is different there. She was enrolled in one to one lessons at a local pool (sport pool, not leisure, they don't really exist) and she had weekly lessons (some years three times per week). They teach them pool safety first at a very young age and going swimming is non-negotiable.

Following that she moved to squad training, which she does three times per week, which is stroke technique (butterfly at 5!!) and stamina.

She also does surf life saving squad, which is ocean swimming. They can do that from the age of 5.

They don't do the badges here which is a bit sad - they expect a lot and the capability of swimming long distances are sort of automatically assumed. We also swam less as a family because pools are not seen as leisure activities, you go to the ocean for that (or ocean pools, which we used to go to as a family).

[BeCoolFucker]

Non-attendee

Is swimming something you do with the whole family?
I never could get my P to come - but now we are separated he takes the DC swimming most weekends he has them, as do I.

Have you got any tips to share on how to introduce your children to swimming?
The first thing is to build confidence in the water rather than focusing on "swimming lessons". DD1 was very timid at first, but we were very patient. By the time DD2 was ready to swim we discovered a pool which had a graduated entry so she could run around in the water at a dept that suited her. She had LOTS more confidence than DD! and I'm sure the pool style helped here.
Once they have some confidence then get them used to splashing water on face and then getting head in water. Both mine had different times for this. We used toys and balls etc to play and get them going under water to pick up the toys.
The best thing for confidence though is swimming regularly. My 2DC (5&2) haven't had any 'formal' lessons, but going every week means DD1 now swims very well underwater and is improving on top and DD2 is well on her way - both are very confident in the water now.

[Lent1l]

Non-attendee

Our local Childrens Centre has a Sing and Splash session once a week which is free. We've been taking our little girl since she was about 8 weeks, just getting her used to the water. Now she's 20 months and jumps in off the side, kicks herself around the pool and splashes and has a great time. Soon we will look for swimming lessons so she can start to learn to move herself more efficiently but for now she just enjoys being in the water.

The staff provide toys and then part of the session they play nursery rhyme songs where you join in the actions.

We think that by starting early, getting it to be a regular event and showing that being in teh water is fun has helped her to enjoy water and hopefully this will continue as she grows up.

[Jinty64]

Dh doesn't do swimming but it is my "thing" and I have taken the boys since ds1 (18) was a baby. Ds's 1&2 had lessons and are good swimmers. I am teaching ds3 myself and he is doing really well. We would have loved to go to the Speedo VIP day but it would have been too far to travel. I swim most days and take ds3 twice or three times a week.

[nerysw]

Non attendee we sometimes swim altogether but more often than not it's a daddy and kids thing on a Sunday. Luckily both my kids love it and are (scarily at time) fearless about the water and jumping in. They've been swimming (for fun not lessons) since they were small babies so love it. Just can't work out why my daughter will splash about happily in the pool but moans about having her hair washed in the bath!

[lunar1]

Non attendee here. My boys, 5&2 love swimming. They have a lesson each a week and we swim together once a week too. They would go every day if they could. I love the fact that's its so much fun for them while keeping them really fit and is also low impact on young growing joints. Ds1 loves getting a new badge to take into school for assembly.

Can I ask a question to speedo? Why can't I get any shorts to fit my son. He is skinny none if them for his age have a proper pull cord to tie.

[saintlyjimjams]

Non-attendee:

Difficult to do with the whole family because ds1 is severely autistic & a non-swimmer & ds2 and ds3 were non swimmers. They all still need a lot of attention in the water & there are a lot of pools we cannot use now my autistic son is a teenager (nowhere for me to get him changed if changing rooms are separated according to make/female)

I eventually got ds2 1:1 swimming lessons because he was so scared & ds3 small group (2-3 in a group) lessons. Those have worked.

We all love swimming, but for us separate sessions work better.

[ForFawkesSakeNoGuyForSolo]

Ds had swimming lessons from age 4 to 8 but had to stop due to finances and Dd's arrival. He loved swimming, but was easily distracted and talked too much! but I know that he can swim to safety if he needs to. He recently had the opportunity to have two swim sessions with his school, but would not agree to go.

Dd (6.10) has swimming lessons. She has been going for 2.3 years and loves it and swims very well.
I've never had a problem with her getting her head or face wet and I attribute that to showering her from newborn instead of having baths.
Dd has learned to dive recently too. I'm really proud of her!

I have not been swimming for many years. The last time was Dd's first time in 2010 on a family holiday, Ds was happy to just do his own thing.
I do not enjoy the getting out and changing/drying etc in usually nasty changing areas and that puts me off even more than the extortionate cost! so we do not swim as a family.

[telsa]

we had a great personal swimming teacher for my DD who never picked it up in a year of school swimming. Unfortunately she has ear problems and we have had to stop as she cannot afford to get an infection in the ears. DS took to it like the proverbial duck in water.....but what really induces him is flotation aids which he loves.

[starlight36]

Non attendee

Both of our children have attended group swimming lesson since a very young age. We also go swimming as a family and they both enjoy it as an activity that we can all do together.

We've always bought bright fun swimming costumes and our DD loves her swimming goggles which often get worn around the house.

[Bubbles85]

Non-attendee

Swimming is definately an activity that the whole family can enjoy together. With little ones my advice is to get them into the water as soon as possible as they love it and swimming comes naturally to them at an early age.

[mrscumberbatch]

Non-tester here.

We do enjoy swimming as a family but find it nigh on impossible to go as one adult and one or two kids.
I never find the family change facilities particularly welcoming and find it difficult to get all of us in and out of the pool safely.

Coupled with the fact that our local pool is now mostly lanes it leaves very little space for toddlers to splash around and the noise levels are horrendous.

As a result- we don't go to the public swimming often. We are lucky enough to have access to a private pool and it is so much more peaceful, great for babies.

[lilyloo]

We don't swim as a family very often. Dd2 has her swimming lesson after school and ds and dd1 can go in by themselves so they usually go then. I get half an hour to have a coffee and read.
All 3 have had swimming lessons until they could swim confidently.

[aristocat]

Non-attendee

Is swimming something you do with the whole family?
Yes, we are a swimming family. I personally swim 4 times a week and my DCs (DS 11y/DD 9y) swim once or twice. Both DCs have recently stopped their swimming lessons which they had been learning since they were 5yo. We all swim together and they will happily swim 20-30 lengths with me in the lanes.

Have you got any tips to share on how to introduce your children to swimming?
Do not give up - swimming is such an important life-skill. Sometimes progress in swimming lessons is dreadfully slow; however swimming is all about confidence. It is such a boost when children get a certificate/badge - we all like a reward

[LLW]

Non- attendee: Swimming is one of the activities our family loves doing best. I started both kids in lessons from about 3-4 mos old and haven't stopped since - so they have grown up in the water and feel really comfortable with it. I was a competitive swimmer myself and wish it was easier to find teams for them to join - in London it's really hard

[firawla]

non attendee: swimming is something i would love to do more with the whole family, i do find it hard to think of taking my 3 all 5 and under when none of them have great confidence in the water, so hoping to start some swimming classes for the oldest soon then i think we could go more

[Glitterfairys]

Non - attendee
We go swimming quite regularly as a family and have done since my eldest was a few months olds and sometimes we go to leisure pools where there are flumes or wave machines too which my children really enjoy. I think the earlier you get children confident in the water is the best thing really and I have found they have all enjoyed swimming from a young age.