snorkeling for 3 yr old?

[oo138oo]

how likely it is for a 3 1/2 yr old to learn snorkeling. my daughter has been taking swimming lessons, so she's pretty comfortable with water. thanks.

 

[rsschneck]

Not sure about your child, but I will tell you our experience.

My DD is now 7 1/2 so this has been just a couple of years back.

DD started swimming lessons at 2 1/2. We were going to Hawaii just after her 5th Bday and decided snorkeling would be fun. We went to a Scuba/snorkeling business and purchased all her gear. She had a lesson at an indoor pool and all went well. We scheduled a snorkel cruise to Molokini Crater. We were in about 80 foot deep water and she freaked. Yeah! She freaked for about 2 minutes until I convinced her to look in the water and see the fish. She has been hooked ever since. We snorkel whenever we can and she has even snorkeled @ Sting Ray City in The Grand Caymans.

I would say it depends on your child and how comfortable they are. I would definately purchase smaller equipment for her and practice in a pool before trying it in the Ocean.

Good Luck!

 

[GenieDana]

Bring a small blow-up raft (the ones they sell in $1 stores) for your child to lay on. They can put their face in the water without fear; you can manuever them around without fear. Throw it away when finished (or give it to the local children on ports of call).

One caveat - You cannot use rafts in the the snorkeling lagoon at Cataway Cay, but BC's are provided.

 

[pdarrah]

Another vote for getting the equipment and working on it in the pool! My DS is 5 and we have been working on snorkling for a couple of weeks. He has always objected to putting his face in the water, so even with the mask it was initially difficult to get him to even try. We are past that hurdle now! So far, we have been working in our own small "simple set" pool which is only 2 ft deep. We are now going to have to move up to the public pool - since he can easily just stand up, he tends to only float and "snorkle" for about 30 seconds. Since there is nothing to see in the pool, he get bored and just stands up and stops. After he is comfortable in the pool where he CAN'T stand up, then I am going to take him to a lake - not the same as the ocean, but closer than the pool.

The way I am getting a 5 year old to cooperate with all of this is by checking books out of the library about oceans, coral reefs, sea life, etc. He WANTS to snorkle on the cruise, so is willing to work at it now.

So far, the most difficult thing has been getting him to remember to breath through his mouth - every so often he forgets and breathes out his nose and, of course, the mask loosens and leaks! Practice is definitely improving this!!!

Good luck,

Pamela

 

[crisi]

How good a swimmer is your kid?

Mine are almost five and almost six. They've been in swim lessons for two years. Both can "swim" -- neither swim steady enough for me to want them in over their heads with snorkle equipment on - and that blow up vest at CC is horrible. The six year old is just now good enough to snorkle (without fins) on the lakeshore. (Our public pool does not permit snorkle equipment in the pool, but my parents live on lakeshore - so they've been growing gills since babyhood)

Keep in mind that the ocean is not a pool. The waves can be pretty big. People do drown snorkleing.

At the same time, plenty of kids swim better than mine do, and having two so close in age has always made me particularly cautious of this sort of activity. Two adults watching one child is safer than two adults watching two, or one adult watching two (common in my life).

 

[oo138oo]

Thanks for all the advice/suggestion. We'll be on a snorkeling trip at Key West. I was told that the snorkeling site is only 4 ft deep, and very calm water. I thought that'd be a good place to introduce my daughter to snorkeling. We'll be practicing in the pool before we head out. She's comfortable with water but can't swim independently yet... so I will have alot of flotation devices with me... one huge luggage just for her swim stuff anything for her.

 

[hydster]

On our 5-1 Eastern cruise our 5 year old still couldn't swim independently (still can't actually....but thats a control issue more than anything) and we took his life jacket on the Doubloon Sail and Snorkel. All the way out he said he wasnt going to do it which was fine..I said I'd stay in the boat with him while dh and the other kids did. Once we got out there he wanted to try it and he was hooked! He did get VERY tired VERY quickly however so be prepared to "haul" your child back to the shore even with a life jacket and fins! He did so well and we had a few moderate little wave ripples every now and then. Also if you are going to be snorkeling where there is a beach take a few buckets in case your child hates it...she can at least sit on the beach and play in the sand.

Heidi

 

[mickeyboat]

I can't imagine my 3 year old being able to understand how to snorkel. I am sure she would not remember to breathe through her mouth.

I agree with the beforementioned resommendations. Practice in a pool or even the bathtub to see if your child can get the hang of it.

Good luck!

Denae

 

[CM_Mom]

Hate to be a spoil sport but if you're thinking of a snorkeling excursion, they all say 5 years and older.

 

[oo138oo]

My friend, who's travelling with us and also have a 3 yr old daughter, booked this excursion for the whole group with a private company at Key West. Due to the "kid's friendly" snorkeling condition, they actually permit 3 yr olds. I can find out more information if anyone's interested. My friend's very safety cautious, so I trust that she did all the research before booking.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by CM_Mom
Hate to be a spoil sport but if you're thinking of a snorkeling excursion, they all say 5 years and older.

That is only if you book through Disney..book on your own and you can take smaller kids. I took my 4 year old on the stingray/snorkling trip through Captain Marvins.....she wore a speedo brand suit that has built in flotation and then she also wore the blow up vest and she did just fine with those. She didn't put the snorkle in her mouth since she couldn't manage that but she had a small mask on and she would put her face down in the water and look at the fish and then just pick up her head to breath. She really loved it...at one point I had to swim after her because she was chasing a sea turtle! She is still talking about that snorkle trip and she loved the stingrays, the water in spots was not over her head and she would stand there and the stingrays would come right up to her.