Goggles: Should We Teach Children to Swim with Goggles On?


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Goggles VS No Goggles


Learning to be comfortable in the water without the need for goggles should always be your goal with children. However, they can also be a very effective teaching aid for all levels. They can help us see better underwater and can assist in building a child’s confidence and comfort in the water. They can also protect sensitive eyes from irritation especially in bodies of water other than pools. But learning to swim without goggles is very important, so that a child never thinks they can only swim with their goggles on.


We also want all children to know the sensation of swimming without goggles just in case they were to fall into the water without goggles on. If your child likes to use their goggles when swimming, make sure that they do spend part of their time in the water without goggles.


An important lesson


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tells us that children under the age of five are at a higher risk of drowning. Therefore, it’s important to teach children how to swim and be safer around water at an early age. A fundamental lesson is how to react if they fall into water – and they probably won’t be wearing goggles if this happens.


Teaching children how to swim without goggles can be turned into a fun game of having them go underwater and reach out to retrieve their goggles or toys from your hand.  This can be a fun and instructional way for children to open their eyes under water and become accustomed to the sensation of water in their eyes.


Not everyone appreciates the sensation of goggles on their eyes. Some children prefer not to wear them. If your child does not like goggles but your teacher has told you that they may help in lessons, try wearing them in the bathtub or even in the car on the way to or from their swimming lessons for short periods. Oftentimes, once they get accustomed to feel of them on their head they will really like wearing them in the water too.


The advantage of goggles


Goggles are especially great for swimmers once they move onto stroke development and swimming longer distances. But did you know that goggles are a relatively new enhancement for swimmers.  They didn’t even really get popular with competitive swimmers until the 1980s. Swimmer Mark Spitz did not wear them when he brought home seven Olympic gold medals in 1972!


At Ocaquatics, we specialize in teaching your little one how to swim and be safer around the water. We offer lessons year-round, so it’s never too late to sign up. Please contact us if you are ready for your little one to begin their journey of how to be safer around water.

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