WHY DO THEY DO THAT? GOGGLES

OUR FOCUS IS ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT

La Petite Baleen uses goggles in our swim lessons and we are often asked why. We even have our tiny babies wearing goggles. There are a handful of reasons why we want our swimmers to wear goggles, but before we get into the details, try this little exercise:

Stand on one leg with your eyes open. Then, close your eyes and feel the difference. Our eyes give us a lot of balance. When children use goggles they have about 60% MORE balance because they can see better underwater. Balance and breath control are as important to swimming as kicking and paddling.

We use a variety of toys and games as teaching tools in our classes. The ability to see toys at the bottom of the pool encourages good head and body position for swim. For example, a clear view of a hula hoop and rings helps with underwater swims. Read on for more information about this important learning tool:

Better Balance:  One of the most important reasons why we encourage our swimmers to wear goggles is because it gives them visual feedback. Doctors would call this peripheral vestibular information. Not only does swimming use both sides of the brain, mimicking the crawling motion, it also gives neuro-visual stimulation through goggles. Basically, we can see better and therefore balance better when wearing goggles in the water.

Protection & Comfort: Our UV filtration systems allow us to limit our use of chlorine and kills the chloramines that can irritate the eyes when swimming without goggles. It’s safe to swim in our pools without goggles, but swimming is certainly more comfortable with goggles keeping the chlorine out of their eyes. Eyes are very sensitive. Goggles with UV protection are encouraged whenever you’re swimming outside.

Learning Through Fun: Looking underwater at toys and for direction (swimming to an island or stairs) gives the child a sense of accomplishment and independence. This is what we are looking for in Level 1 and Toddler and Me. The child swims by themselves 6 feet to an island or stairs with a breath-holding balloon face, paddling arms and kicking legs. Being able to focus on a landing spot underwater is supported by goggles.

Babies & Toddlers: Introducing goggles to babies and toddlers is a lesson in patience. At first, all we can do is measure success in seconds, but eventually using goggles becomes second nature. And when goggles are used at this young age, it helps these little swimmers figure out their own balance in the water. To help move the acclimation process along, your teacher might suggest keeping a pair of goggles in the bathtub at home for play and practice.

Safety & Confidence: While goggles are amazing and we encourage all students to use them, we also want to make sure our swimmers are not dependent on them for safety reasons. In Level 3 students learn several safety skills, including a “no equipment” jump into the deep section of our pools.