Early Learning Centre Armbands

I think it's very important for children to know how to swim and I think the best way to do this is to introduce them to water when they are very small so they learn to not be afraid and hopefully have fun in the swimming pool. We have been taking my little girl swimming since she was born practically and now our Sunday morning ritual is to take her and my new baby son to the local baths.

She is not the most confident in the water but you can tell every week that she builds up a bit more confidence and gets a bit more dating when it comes to how far into the water she will go on her own. One of the things that has helped with this confidence is these arm bands from The Early Learning Centre. My girl is only little so wading into the water on her own was quite daunting but with these arms bands on it gives her a bit of confidence knowing that there is something keeping her afloat in the water. When she first tried them it was a bit of a revelation and now she insists on wearing them even before we get in the pool.

The armbands are pink and they match her swimming costume which is very important in her eyes. They have a fun seahorse design on them with pictures of purple seahorses and fish dotted around the arm bands so it's quite in keeping with the water theme and they are cute looking.

The arm bands came flat in a box so all you need to do is just blow them up. There is a little plastic valve on each armband that you use to blow into and you don't need much puff which is nice. Once they have reached the desired pumped up level you can push the valve back into the arm band so it lays flush against the band and does not get in the way. I find these arm bands keep the air in them well and do not become too deflated. We just keep them blown up in the back of the car and find we don't need to blow them up again between visits which is nice.

They are quite easy to get on and my little girl can put them on herself although she does need a bit of help tugging them up her arm and getting them into position. I find if you wet them and the skin a little before putting them on they are much easier to get on. They stay in place well once we are in the water and are not so big that they get in the way of her trying to splash her arms and create a swimming stroke.

The arm bands are suitable from 1 year but obviously never leave a child unattended while using these near a swimming pool or any form of water. They cost £6 for the pair and are available from The Early Learning Centre.