As a baby, Dex loved swimming. If the pool wasn’t too cold, he’d sit in his little Zoggs training seat and splash away like no ones business. But, unbeknown to us, he had an accident whilst swimming with his grandparents that’s made him cautious. Apparently he slipped whilst running around the pool at our local leisure centre and spent 20 seconds under the water. His nan did tell me about it, but I was distracted at the time and mistakenly thought he’d forget all about it when he saw the pool on holiday… I was wrong.

For the first three days on holiday he was paralyzed with fear if he got within a metre of the pool. He’d run around it, throw things into it (and scoop them back out with the pool net), he’d even push us in - but if you tried to so much as dip his toes in, he’d scream. It was the same story on the beach. He loved exploring the beached pedalos, and digging to Australia with his spiderman bucket, but an invitation to go paddling in the sea was met with a very serious and definitive “Nah Mimmy” (> English translation: “No mum. Go away. Not doing it. I’ll scream like you’re abducting me“)

We bought inflatables with us, and even more whilst there. An arm band and rubber ring combo would get him in the water, but he’d cry so hysterically we felt cruel subjecting him to it.

We had agreed a SwimFin review before holiday but I didn’t hold out much hope that Dexter would get in the pool with it - I’m honestly not exaggerating how nervous he was. Not being beaten, we made a big fuss out of it putting it on ourselves and posing by the pool. Slowly but surely a hesitant Dex came out to see what the fuss was about. Within seconds he was asking to put it on himself. Teaming it with Spiderman armbands we eventually coaxed him into the water, albeit holding onto daddy for dear life.

And so a love affair began.

Dexter slowly began to relax and paddle through the water. He was content to splash and even coped with the odd wave of water in his face. He was able to relax, let go of daddy and kick his legs to propel forward - baby steps towards what will be an essential (and potentially life-saving) life skill.

So what is this genius bit of kit?

The SwimFin is a totally unique swimming aid that has revolutionised the way we’re teaching our children to swim. Unlike arm bands and floats, with one of these secured onto your child’s back they’ll develop a better and more natural swimming position. It supports and strengthens the natural buoyancy of the body at its core, leaving hands and feet completely free for splashing and learning strokes.

Even better, it’s lightweight and small enough for packing in your suitcase, and there’s nothing to inflate when you finally get to the pool. You simply thread the velcro through the SwimFin and secure snugly to your child’s frame. The velcro gets stickier when wet so no danger of it sliding off. One size fits all so you don’t have to worry about picking the right one. It’s simply a case of picking a colour!

The psychological benefits far outweigh SwimFin’s buoyancy properties. Kids love the feeling of safety and security SwimFin gives them, while it motivates and encourages imagination and play Kevin Mosely, Swimfin

Dexter is the ultimate testament to the above. He was so frightened of the water before the SwimFin, and quite rightly so. The accident he had severely affected his confidence and made him feel unsafe, even if we were holding onto him tightly. With the SwimFin he felt completely supported and could attack the water at his own pace. After five minutes he was floating independently and wriggling from side to side and kicking his little legs - quite happy to leave daddy’s side.

At first glance, you might think this is only suitable for swimming on your front, but nope. SwimFin is multi-stroke functional - including the back-stroke as per the piccie below. It’ll be some time before we’re likely to see Dexter do this, but herein lies the real beauty of the SwimFin: It works for all ages and abilities - from toddlers taking to the water for the first time, to advanced swimmers who want to develop stroke technique.

The general rule is that the more submerged it is, the more support it is giving. This means when the child is vertical, doggy paddling through the water, SwimFin will be almost completely submerged, giving maximum support. As your child straightens out and becomes more horizontal, SwimFin comes out of the water giving less support. This means the child is swimming more for themselves with less assistance. The next step for Dex is ditching those armbands so we can get him doggy paddling.

It’s worth pointing out that the packaging states the SwimFin is suitable for children 15-30 kgs and gives an approximate age range of 3–6 years. This is a legal requirement for all buoyancy aids that have undergone safety testing and is for guidance only. There are testimonials from parents with children aged from 12 months, and the SwimFin even keeps inventor Kevin Mosely (14st) afloat!

In conclusion, I might have been dubious at first, but I can’t thank SwimFim enough for giving Dex the confidence he needed to enjoy the pool after a particularly nasty experience. I’m stupidly impressed with it and would wholeheartedly recommend to any parent who is teaching their child to swim. At £21.99 it’s sensibly priced and will provide years of support as they grow in confidence.

To find out more or buy your own, head to SwimFin.co.uk or follow on Twitter, YouTube or Facebook.