5 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Be Physically Active

**Collaborative Post**

AD: Physical activity is important at all stages of life - as a baby, toddler, a growing child and then when they're an adult. It helps in the development of their muscle tissue and staying fit and healthy. As your child gets older, getting them to exercise may become a challenge. For a lot of parents, it's the struggle of getting them outdoors as once outside children often actually quite enjoy the activities. However, research shows that children are spending less time outdoors, and more time on their devices. It is estimated that they spend only a mere 40 minutes outside, whilst spending more than four-and-a-half hours on an electrical device. When it comes to children, physical exercise should be fun, it should be something they want to do so if your child is struggling with that, here are some fun ways you could try to sneak in a little more exercise and outdoor time with your child. 

If you can relate and want to learn about encouraging your child to be more physically active, take a look at the tips we’ve shared below from a prep school in Surrey.

Swimming with a Swim Club

Swimming is a skill I have always been insistent my children learn. Water can be so dangerous if children don't know how to swim and its everywhere we look from the beach to pools and on holiday. So booking swimming lessons was something top of my list and both James and Evelyn started swimming lessons around the age of 3.

James is now almost 9 and has really enjoyed swimming since the age of 3. He and Evelyn have always been water babies and so getting them into the pool was never difficult. James took to swimming lessons really well and moved up classes quickly once he had got the hang of the basic strokes. He was so excited last year to be invited to join a local swimming club which is where he now swims.

Save a Life, Learn to Swim with Swimshop!

I have always loved swimming, there was just something about being in the pool that made me feel happy and free. When I had children I knew that an important thing for me was getting them into the water, ensuring they felt safe and happy in the water and ensuring they learnt to swim as soon as possible. 

Not only is it important for children to learn to swim as soon as possible so that they can enjoy the pool but it is also a very important life skill. It is a skill that could very well save their life some day and whilst we all know you shouldn't leave children alone near water, we also all know how inquisitive they can be and just how easy it is to turn away for just a few seconds! Teaching your child to swim early really could be the difference between life and death in situations like these. 

Puddle Ducks Swimming Lessons!

You may have noticed several posts on the blog lately showing Evelyn's progress since starting at Puddle Ducks. Well she has now attended for 6 weeks and the improvement has been amazing!

When Evelyn joined Puddle Ducks she was not happy about going under the water or having water in her face, yet now thanks to all the great techniques learnt at Puddle Ducks Evelyn is more than happy to not only have water on her face but to swim under water!

Here is a little about what Puddle Ducks say about their swimming lessons and learning "Skills for Life".

"The swimming and life-saving skills your little one is taught on the Puddle Ducks programme will stay with them… for life!

Skills for Life means that at Puddle Ducks, every child is taught to swim using a tailored programme that is unique to them, and their levels of ability and confidence, within our structured framework – we keep it fun and we know that it works! 

The children in our swimming classes learn how to swim without realising it, so that swimming and water safety become as natural as breathing, and it develops into a skill set that never leaves them.

The little ones we teach can often swim over 10m before starting school, and then go on to learn style, stamina and more formal lifesaving skills in our Academy."

The Puddle Ducks classes are run in a relaxed atmosphere but with a clear lesson plan to engage each baby and child. I found the lessons not only taught Evelyn some basic skills but it also taught me some skills that made me feel so much more confident taking Evelyn in the water outside of a swimming lesson such as holding her in the water etc. 

During our time at Puddle Ducks we have met several teachers and each and everyone of them have been fantastic. It is clear just from meeting them and having the pleasure to be a part of their lessons they are passionate about teaching and about swimming and that makes attending Puddle Ducks just that little bit more special.

During the 6 weeks we have been attending lessons Evelyn is already showing a huge improvement in confidence in the water. She has began dipping her mouth in to the water to blow bubbles and knows to kick her legs when under the water, she will also instinctively reach for the bar if in reach. This has all been since attending Puddle Ducks and in just 6 weeks!

As well as the swimming lessons Puddle Ducks offer they also run "under water photo shoots" which you can attend for an additional cost. During this a trusted photographer is brought in and each child gets there own opportunity to have several photos taken under the water and these are then available to buy if you wish.

Evelyn attended one of these photo shoots and we LOVED the pictures! They were so unique and something totally different. Whilst the photo shoot is an extra cost and may seem a little pricey the photos are adorable and something totally unique. Here is Evelyn's under water photo -

So if you are looking for swimming lessons for your little ones then I can highly recommend trying Puddle Ducks and im pretty certain you will be hooked just like we were!

You can find out more about Puddle Ducks and find a class near you via their website here - www.puddleducks.com

xXx

SwimFin **REVIEW**

As I am sure you have noticed by now we love swimming. We as a family may not be the best and we certainly aren't winning any medals buts its an activity we can all enjoy together as a family.

Learning to swim is something I feel very passionate about and feel its something children should be encouraged to learn as its ultimately a life saving skill that can so easily be taught either via a parent/carer, a friend or via swimming lessons with a professional.

I have taken both James and Evelyn swimming since they were just a few months old. James now attends weekly swimming lessons as our local leisure centre but before that I used to take him by myself and attempted to teach him myself. During this this we tried several different swimming aids but none seemed to give him the correct swimming position or really help him get going.

The arm bands seemed to simply leave his arms up in the water but offered no support to his core and almost left him standing vertically in the pool with his arms beside his head. The swimming ring was a little better but again it seemed to leave him vertical rather than horizontal in the water as would be needed for the correct swimming position.

Then we heard about the SwimFin, The SwimFin doesn't fight against the body pulling it to the surafce instead it works in harmony with the body to gain a more natural swimming position in the easiest way.

Not only did the SwimFin work wonders for helping get James in to that correct swimming position and offer him that extra bit of support in the correct area it made swimming fun! With the swim fin on James always thought he was a shark it make him automatically want to move around the water, becoming more active and confident as he moved around. You can even buy adult straps for the SwimFin so they can fit on to an adult!

Whats a little different about the SwimFin is that the more visible it is out of the water the less support it is offering meaning the more your child is swimming alone. The more submerged the Swim Fin is the more support it is offering the child so as your child slowly becomes more confident and more able to get their body in to the optimum position for swimming themselves the less the Swim Fin will be aiding them. I love this as it means your child is using less of the buoyancy aid without even realising it as you don't have to take anything away.

If you have or know a child who is learning to swim or could use a little extra support than I would highly recommend trying out the SwimFin, you can find out more about SwimFin via their website here - swimfin.co.uk

Do you and your family enjoy swimming? Is the SwimFin something you or your children would use?

xXx

 * I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.

* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

Top tips for swimming with children.

Swimming is something I have always thought to be a really important skill for a child to learn, after all it can save their life! 

I have taken both my children from young babies and James absolutely loves being in the water now (in fact we can't get him out most of the time!). I know that taking a young baby swimming on your own can be quite a daunting experience so I have shared below some of our top tips and advice for swimming with your child and building water confidence. 

- Get your children used to the water at home first in the bath. Encourage them to splash about and make being in the water fun, sing songs and play games. This will help build up your child's confidence in water in a relaxed environment in their own home. 

- Attending swimming lessons can really help build children's confidence in the water and not only that but they can really help build up your confidence when taking your child swimming on your own. The instructors at these lessons will often teach you lots of helpful hints and tips on keeping safe in the water and encouraging your baby to enjoy the water more and more. 

- The first couple of times you take your baby/ child swimming don't expect to be in the pool long. Being in the pool (especially if its a little busy) can be quite overwhelming for small babies and children and often quite tiring. When we first started taking James we found around 20 minutes was plenty of time in the pool, we gradually increased that time and now at 5 I think he would stay in the pool all day if he could!

- Using a buoyancy aid can also help your child gain confidence in the water. We found the SwimFin to be the perfect buoyancy aid as it kept the child in the optimal swimming position and only offers the amount of support your child requires. It is also shaped like a shark fit and so children will love wearing it and as they bound around the pool they are gaining confidence and often learning basic swimming skills such as reaching with their arms and kicking their feet to move faster. 

- Take a towel or if you have one a hooded poncho style towel to the pool with you and leave it pool side (somewhere it will remain dry). As I am sure you have noticed when you get out of the pool its REALLY cold, babies especially will really feel this so having a towel to hand when you get out will mean they stay warm until you get them dressed.

- My biggest top tip would be to stay relaxed and calm, enjoy the experience and bonding time with your child. Have lots of fun and remember your baby will pick up on your mood so lots of smiles and encouragement whilst in the water will mean they will feel more happy and relaxed to be there. All children will develop and learn in there own time and confidence will come over time so just stick with it.

Do you have any top tips for swimming with babies or children?

xXx

This post was written in collaboration with our SwimFin review.

Puddle Ducks swimming lessons **UPDATE**

Evelyn has been enjoying her Puddle Duck's lessons for 4 weeks now (where does the time go!?) and she has honestly come on leaps and bounds since that first lesson.

After mentioning about a sign being placed outside to make it easier to find, we were thrilled to see a lovely big clear sign directing us to Puddle Ducks on our arrival! The changing rooms are always lovely and warm as is the pool so no worries about babies getting cold! 

Jen our teacher has been lovely as I am sure are all of the Puddle Ducks teachers, she is fantastic with the babies and you can tell by the way she runs her classes she is enthusiastic and really cares about all the children at Puddle Ducks. Having such a lovely teacher really does put your mind at ease especially when taking your children swimming for the first couple of times when both you and your child may be nervous.

In our lessons Evelyn has been practicing lots of submersion and turning techniques as well as exhaling water and blowing bubbles. Only last week Evelyn, with a little help from Jen swam under water through a hoop and out the other side to mummy kicking her little legs behind her bless her!

The classes cover lots of techniques that as well as learning and perfecting in class you can also take away from the pool and practice in your own time, as well as really focusing on babies confidence in the water being the best it can be. Evelyn has started dipping her mouth in to the water to copy me when blowing bubbles.

For us so far Puddle Duck's swimming lessons have been great, they have been fun and Evelyn has learnt through fun, song and rhyming as well as being on her way to learning some basic techniques that could potentially one day save her life!

If you are undecided about joining Puddle Ducks with your little ones I would say quite literally just take the plunge and do it! From what we have experienced so far we are sure you will love the lessons just as much as we do!

Make sure you come back and check out how she has got on in another few weeks.

Why not pop over to the Puddle Ducks website and check out what lessons they have to offer to cater for you - www.puddleducks.com.

xXx

Swimshop £25 giveaway!

Today I have a lovely giveaway for you to get you ready for the summer, a £25 voucher for Swimshop one of the leading swimming costume retailers in the UK. 

SwimShop have been in the swimwear business longer than any other UK swimming shop. They are headed up by an Olympic Finalist and are now the Swim Specialists at Sports Direct, the UK’s largest sports retailer. Their passion and product range begins with encouraging little tots to love learning to swim, to equipping the next generation's budding athletes with the correct swimwear and on to meeting the needs of the world's elite swimmers.

You may have noticed via several post's on the blog lately that we are big swimming fans! Both James and Evelyn attend regular lessons and we often swim together on a weekend. Its one of those activities that is not only fun for all but it can also save your life!

A part of swimming is finding decent swimwear to wear when you go. As an adult I often feel self conscious in a swimming costume so a good quality, pretty swimming costume does wonders for my confidence. James loves picking out his swimming shorts too and there are lots of bright, fun designs out there for kids now.

So I have this giveaway for you. You can enter below using the Rafflecopter form and 1 lucky winner will be chosen at random to win a £25 voucher to spend on anything from the Swimshop website. The giveaway is open to UK residents only and a winner will be chosen from all entries that have been completed successfully within 48 hours of the giveaway ending.

Enter here -

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will run from 15/05/2015 - 05/06/2015 a winner will be chosen at random using the rafflecopter application. The giveaway is open to UK residents only. The prize will be supplied by Swimshop and once a winner is picked the winners details will be passed on to Swimshop to arrange your prize. 

Puddle Ducks - Evelyn's first swimming lesson.

Evelyn loves water! Ever since she has been a tiny baby she has loved bath time and I regularly take her to our local swimming pool for a splash around.

So when we were recently contacted by Puddle Ducks with the offer of some swimming lessons I knew they were something Evelyn would really enjoy!

Our first impressions of the pool were that it was a little tricky to find. The pool is set within a school/ library setting and there are no real signs from the road for the pool or the lessons. It would have been lovely to see a Puddle Ducks sign to the outside of the pool just to indicate to parents where lessons were for people who were new.

The changing rooms were separate for male and female and open plan meaning there are no cubicles although this will of course be different for each pool, I also only found one baby changing table which was a little tricky with 8 babies all trying to get ready for the swimming lesson.

However once we reached the pool we were greeted by the lovely Jen who was setting up ready for the lesson. She was warm, friendly and said hello to all the parents and babies as they came to the pool side. As it was the start of a new term and the first lesson with Puddle Ducks for some people Jen went through some safety guidelines and then we got in to the pool.

There were 8 other parents with their babies in the class + the teacher and I loved the fact the class was small and personal. We gathered in a large circle and Jenny taught us some techniques to get the babies splashing, kicking and preparing them to go under water. I found these really useful and they are simple techniques that can easily be practiced out of class, in the bath or if you take your baby swimming yourself.

The class incorporated songs with fun and simple techniques and actions which made the whole lesson fun and enjoyable for the babies. The main focus of the Puddle Ducks swimming lessons seems to be to make sure your child is confident and capable in the water which is exactly how I want Evelyn to feel!

(Under water photo taken during a Puddle Ducks under water photo session, this Isevelyn but a photo provided from Puddle Ducks.)

The lessons are priced at £13.50 per 30 minutes which is a more than some other swimming lessons, however with Puddle Ducks the classes are kept small meaning you and your child get lots of swimming time and interaction with the teacher. There are also lots of swimming aids and toys such as rubber ducks used which you don't often find with swimming lessons, the toys definitely gave theses lessons the fun factor for Evelyn!

Overall we really enjoyed our first lesson with Puddle Ducks and can't wait to go back to our next lesson on Sunday!

Do your little ones attend swimming lessons or have you thought about swimming lessons?

xXx

James Update!

Its been a while since I shared an update on my little boy James and so today I thought I would share a little with you.

James is growing, so quickly! He is very tall and taller than most of the children in his class at school. Coupled with this and his ever growing feet (size 13 already!) I think he may be tall when he grows up. Here is James dressed as Batman for a themed day at school. 

James is absolutely loving school. I must admit before he started school I was so nervous but seeing how happy he is there just made me so much happier. He has grown to be a very confident and often independent little man, waving me off in the school playground and taking himself in to school. His teachers say he is doing really well and is always happy. The last month or so he seems to have learnt so much and each day comes home filling us in with all the information he has learnt that day, yesterday he came home reciting vowels that he had learnt! James recently received a certificate in assembly for writing great sentences!

James also attends weekly swimming lessons as well as a once a month one to one swimming lesson at our local leisure centre. He loves swimming and you would never have guessed that just over a year ago he hated even splashing water on his face. Nowadays you can't get him above the water and I am pretty sure he's half fish! He recently received his alpha 3 badge and his 10m badge which he is so proud of as are we.

I am so proud of how well James has settled in to school and how well he is doing in his swimming lessons, he seems to just take it all in his stride. He is also a fantastic big brother and this can be seen every time he is with Evelyn. My heart just melts seeing them together!

xXx

Konfidence Baby and Children's swimwear **REVIEW**

Swimming is always a big hit in our house! James and Evelyn were water babies from the get go and still love swimming now. 
We go swimming as a family every weekend, James also attends a weekly lesson at out local leisure centre and I take Evelyn just me and her once a week whilst James is at school so yea we do a lot of swimming!

When the lovely people at Konfidence offered us some of their baby swimming products to try for Evelyn we knew they were most definitely something we could put to the test.

The first product we tried was the Babywarma Baby Wetsuit (we chose the Strawberry design.)

These are available is sizes 0-24 months and are made from 2mm thick neoprene. The Babywarma Baby Wetsuit helps keep your baby warmer in the swimming pool for much longer than would be possible without it. The neoprene also provides a higher grip surface for parents when carrying baby around poolside / changing rooms as compared to bare skin.  When worn outdoors it is also 100% UV protective, and features clever design techniques that ensure a snug, “huggable” fit, for maximum safety, comfort and performance. It also opens flat to allow quick nappy changes.

We love the Babywarma Baby Wet suit! I really liked the face it had no long arms or legs so Evelyn could splash and move about freely. The velcro openings on the top, side and bottom mean you can completely open up the wet suit and lay baby on top and then fold it back over and fasten meaning it is really simple and easy to do. We also loved the quirky strawberry design and there are several other designs to choose from too including polka dot and clown fish. 
Priced at just £18.99 I feel these offer excellent value for money. They kept Evelyn warm during a whole hours swim. It was easy to wash and kept all its colour and design even after several swimming trips and washes. It is most definitely something we will continue to use when we go swimming. 

We also tried out two different types of reusable swimming nappies that Konfidence have to offer. 

The first one we tried was the Konfidence AquaNappy (We tried the Pink Hibiscus design).

 The AquaNappy Incorporates a triple layer design which comprises of a soft polyester outer layer, recycled PVC middle barrier layer, and soft inner mesh layer. This reusable and eco-friendly swim nappy is made doubly secure with an adjustable Velcro sash and poppers, allowing it to be sized up from 3 months to around 30 months in age. With The AquaNappy that's all you need! There is no need for disposable swim nappy underneath its just all in one. These have also been tested and endorsed by swim schools since there launch 10 years ago. 

The Aqua Nappy is priced at just £9.99 which is a fantastic price for a swim nappy that due to its adjust-ability will fit a child all the way from 3 months up to 30 months (now that's potentially a lot of swimming!). We really liked the AquaNappy and found it fit really well and looked comfy for Evelyn. These are available in 9 funky designs so there is sure to be one to suit your baby. 

The second swim nappy we tried was the NeoNappy (We tried the Strawberry design).

The NeoNappy features a soft and supple neoprene shell and high quality nylon lycra waist and leg hems. The NeoNappy works because the neoprene shell provides a soft and flexible but most importantly impermeable barrier to keep little accidents inside. The Lycra waist and legs hems form a seal around little legs and waist and help to keep what’s inside, inside!

The NeoNappy is priced £8.49 and is a really useful purchase especially if your little ones are or you are planning on them doing swimming lessons. If you are wanting to be extra cautious the NeoNappy can actually be paired with the AquaNappy featured above for double layer protection (the NeoNappy would go on the top of the AquaNappy). I will most definitely be using ours once Evelyn starts proper swimming lessons like her brother. 

Overall we LOVE Konfidence Baby swimwear. They offer stylish, well made yet affordable swimwear for babies and children that is really made to last. Why not pop over and check out all they have to offer via there website here - www.konfidence.co.uk.

Do your children enjoy swimming or perhaps attend swimming lessons? 

xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.

* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

First swimming lesson!

Today James had his first swimming lesson. He has been on the waiting list for a few months so he was very excited when we got the call a few weeks ago and he learned he had a space in the next term of swimming lessons. 

James was so excited that every day he asked if today was swimming today and hasn't stopped bouncing off the walls since.

The lessons James will be attending are 25 minutes long (this may not sound like long but it was plenty long enough for a 4 year old once they were in the pool and splashing around non stop!)

Parents were aloud to watch on the side of the pool with the class being split in to 3 small groups of 4 children with a designated teacher in the water for each group. Meaning that as the groups were small each child got plenty of help and attention and of course swimming time! 

James had a fantastic time at his first lesson! He even managed to swim a width of the pool using just a swimming noodle so he was rather impressed with himself! 

James is attending swimming lessons at our local leisure centre which is part of the Active group of leisure centre's. The lessons cost £49.50 for 10 lessons spread over 10 weeks. Which I thought was a very reasonable price, after all swimming is a skill that is not only fun but could one day save your life. 

Here is James all ready for his first lesson! 

Do any of your children do any sports or leisure activities or part of any clubs they really enjoy?

xXx