Dinky Divers Dive Sticks from SwimFin

Dinky Divers dive sticks from SwimFin are a fantastic and fun way of building confidence in the water for young children.  I have a 5 and 8 year old who were keen to test them out.

WP_20160408_09_55_06_ProThese are really fun, brightly coloured sticks, each designed after an animal.  We have a blue shark, orange seal, yellow seahorse and red hippo.  What I love is that they come in an easy to carry, black mesh bag, which means taking them to the swimming pool is simple and they all stay together when you are not using them, either at the poolside or at home.

dive sticksWhen these arrive, both my children were keen to pick out with their favourites and played with them all in the bath each night, but what we really wanted to do was take them to the swimming pool to really put them to the test.  We had an opportunity after school one day and took them to the pool.  The are really easy for little fingers to hold and carry as well as a soft, durable texture.

So to the all important test.  Dropping them into the swimming pool they easily sunk to the bottom and stood upright, the children couldn’t wait to take on the challenge of trying to dive down and get them.  Miss M went down with ease and love grabbing them but for Mister B it was a little more of a challenge, but he did it!!  He was so keen to get back his favourite shark stick that he pushed himself to get down and retrieve it.

WP_20160502_13_44_32_Pro

These are an excellent way of getting children used to going under water and they find it lots of fun.  It also is a great activity to occupy them with in the swimming pool and something both of mine enjoyed.  I’d definitely recommend these for any young swimmers, my two are already excited about taking these on holiday this year where we’ll have a private pool they can play in everyday!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

We’ve arrived – Our Summer Holiday in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Our family summer holiday finally started last night when we arrived in Pembrokeshire, Wales.  My parents had kindly rented a holiday house right on the beach with it’s own infinity swimming pool, hot tub and huge balcony literally a stones throw down to the beach.  As well as my parents, my brother and his family joined us with my 3yr old niece and 12 week old nephew.

We woke up this morning to the sun beaming and the children eager to get down to the beach.  I was surprised to find the beach virtually empty and the minute we stepped onto the sand the children were digging away, excited beyond words, looked for buried treasure.

sand4

Nanny and Grandad kindly bought Mister B and sand truck which he was thrilled with and kept him occupied for hours.  It just shows how such a simple thing can keep little ones happy – he played with it for hours loving filling it and emptying it across the sand.

Sand2

After playing around on the sand for a while, Miss M decided she wanted a go at body boarding after finding a board in the shed of the house we are in.   She loves the outdoors and is willing to have a go at anything so off she went to try her luck on the waves.

Sand3

Time for lunch so we all headed back to the house for a filled wrap and salad.  We decided to spend the afternoon in the pool and hot tub, although I have to be honest at this point and confess to never having been in a swimming pool since 2004 when I was in the Maldives on honeymoon.  I have never been swimming with my children and today wore a tankini that I brought after my 5yr old Miss M was born and finally pulled the price tags off today and made the plunge.  Although I still feel really uncomfortable with my weight I have lost 12lb through the Porridge on Tuesday diet in the last six weeks and that has really given me more confidence in how I feel.  And the honest truth is I really enjoyed it – I think being in a private pool really helped but it was great to get back in the water and the hot tub was utterly divine!!sand5

We have had so much fun today – a completely action packed day – I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week aholds and hope the sunshine stays with us!