If the sweltering summer days are calling you to the swimming pool to cool off and to entertain your kids, you may need a game or two to keep the kids from annoying one another. These games work well for holiday parties and birthday celebrations. Depending on the level of supervision, small or large groups of kids can enjoy these activities. Help your kids work off some extra energy while escaping the hot summer sun.
Goals
Swimming pool games can take a variety of forms. Relay games act as group races from one side of the pool to the other. Marco Polo and other tagging games encourage kids to move through the water quickly and efficiently. Diving games test kids’ abilities and courage.
Prizes
Many items you need for the games will also work for prizes. Items, such as rings or sticks, that you toss into the pool for the children to dive after can be handed out for prizes. You can even toss in coins and let the kids keep the ones they find. Other prizes might include rafts, goggles, pool noodles and other pool toys.
Ages
Be aware of the ages and abilities of the children before assigning games. If you have various age groups, you may want to break the group of children into older and younger. Only let the older children participate in diving or underwater swimming games. Brave kids might try to convince you of their elite abilities, but you should always take their safety into consideration.
Supervision
No matter how behaved and capable your swimmers are, bring plenty of adults with you. Assign a few kids per adult and always know where each child is at all times. With all the splashing and chaos of a game, you can quickly lose track of just one. Before you even know he is missing, disaster can strike.
Safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2007, more than 3,000 people died of accidental drownings and more than 20 percent of these were children 14 years of age and younger. The CDC found that males and younger children were most likely to overestimate their swimming abilities. Children want to impress their friends so keep the games as innocuous as possible. Ban dangerous behavior such as submerging others, running, diving in shallow water and risky behavior.
Benefits
In addition to offering a cool alternative to the hot weather, swimming games encourage physical activity. Instead of sitting at home, children get moving and exercise while engaging in fun. Games also keep kids focused while in the water, discouraging dangerously creative behaviors. If you are in charge of what they do in the pool, they won’t take the time to try something risky.
Photo Credit
- swimming pool image by apeschi from Fotolia.com
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