Goggles are one of the coolest inventions. You can see underwater! It is like magic. Children love being able to find toys and play games underwater. Goggles make swimming even more fun.
There is nothing wrong with wearing goggles while swimming, but they should be used with a few parameters.
The Concern with Goggles
We have had many kids come through our program who used goggles for most of their lessons. However, when they take them off, it is like they forgot how to swim!
Pool water shouldn’t sting your eyes. However, it is impossible to keep pool water completely clean. Pee, poop, skin, blood, dirt, and who knows what else are in the water, even if you can’t see it. That is what the chlorine is for! The chlorine breaks down organic matter, but there is always something in the pool.
Contrary to popular wisdom, it is the other stuff in the pool that stings your eyes, not chlorine.
The biggest concern with goggles is that kids can become used to wearing them. If you take them off, they aren’t comfortable opening their eyes. Then, they get in the water and essentially become blind! The water stings their eyes a little if they try to open them, so they just keep them closed. Swimming blind is quite scary to some kids, which causes them to have a hard time safely making it to the side of the pool.
Drowning can quickly occur with a child who falls in who isn’t used to swimming without goggles. That is why it is also crucial to take other safety measures around the pool as well.
Goggle Guidelines
Swimming with goggles is fun and can actually help kids learn to swim. Here are some guidelines that will keep goggles in their proper place.
Use goggles initially to learn to swim
Most kids have a hard time putting their face in the water at first. They not only get water in their eyes, but also in their nose and mouth. It is quite uncomfortable. Wearing goggles takes away the discomfort of getting their eyes wet, which allows kids to overcome putting their face in more quickly. The sooner kids will put their face in the water, the better!
A great place to practice using goggles is in the bath. Have the kids look at toys in the water. It’s a blast!
Children can’t swim at this stage anyway, so being used to goggles isn’t any more dangerous than before they started using them.
Use goggles some after learning to swim
Once a child can make forward progress for about 7 yards, they have learned to swim. Though they aren’t strong swimmers and can’t swim very far, they have the basic foundation to build upon.
At this stage, it is important that they can also swim without goggles for 7 yards. If they were to fall in without goggles, they should be able to make it to the side of the pool.
Swimming without goggles is a separate skill that has to be learned. Some kids learn it without any problems. Other kids need lots of time and encouragement to learn to open their eyes in the water to see where they are going.
So, we recommend requiring that kids swim at least 10-20% of the time without goggles during a single swimming session. So, if you go swimming for one hour, make them swim about 10 minutes without goggles.
We also recommend that you sometimes leave the goggles at home and swim without them for an entire session. Something like 1 out of every 8 sessions should be without goggles, give or take.
Have fun!
Following these guidelines will keep goggle use in their proper place. If kids get comfortable swimming only with goggles, their risk of drowning increases. Although their are no statistics on this, we have seen many kids have issues with goggles during their lessons.
We don’t allow the use of goggles to progress from level 3 and level 4 (unless there is a good reason). You can see more about our curriculum here. This ensures they can perform life-saving swimming skills if they were to fall in without goggles.
Despite the guidelines, goggles are so cool! Enjoy swimming and don’t let these guidelines keep you down. Find what is right for your family and do that, but don’t forget to keep your family safe. Drowning is a leading cause of death among children, and we want to change that!
We would love to help your family be safer around water, you can learn more about our lessons on our website, emailing drowningfree@allknoxswim.com, or calling 865-309-4944. See you soon!
