18 December 2014

Review: SwimFin


The other half and I had recently been taking Logan to swimming lessons at our local leisure centre however he was becoming less and less interested and one week had a major meltdown then said he didn't want to go back which was a shame. We did take him swimming every weekend ourselves anyway but we wanted to try to help him learn to swim and we just weren't sure if his arm bands were really helping him learn much. That's when the lovely people at SwimFin kindly agreed to let Logan test out their product.


With Logan being autistic I wasn't entirely sure how well he would take to SwimFin with the flotation device being on his back instead of his arms, which he is used to, but he really liked the fact that the SwimFin looks like a sharks fin so that was a good start.

SwimFin is described as "a teaching aid, flotation device and fun water toy all in one. It should be worn high on the back, above the centre of gravity. This way it will ‘suspend’ the child in the water – it will not tip a child forward if worn correctly. A SwimFin should never be used with a baby that cannot control their body yet, and it must NEVER be worn on the front of the body.

The most important thing about SwimFin is this: 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 the child’s body position becomes more horizontal, SwimFin comes out of the water giving less support. This means the child is swimming more for themselves with less and less assistance. And Swimfin never has to be inflated, deflated, or need to have additional support added or removed as with armbands/discs, body vests etc."



Showing off his new SwimFin.

So what did Logan think of the SwimFin we were given, well in all honesty he loves it. He was allowed to choose his favourite colour, blue, to review and like I said the fact it looks like a shark fin (which Logan finds totally cool) really helped put his mind at rest when we didn't put arm bands on him and only the new SwimFin. I asked him how comfy it was to wear and he said "it's fine Mummy" which is great as if he wasn't happy with it he would soon be telling you. It's also very easy to take on and off. It has 2 velcro straps which slot through the SwimFin and then wrap around your child's body. Really easy and simple.

I'm really surprised at how light weight the SwimFin actually is. Logan's not the lightest of children, in fact he's deceivingly quite heavy, and the SwimFin keeps him steady and buoyant in the water with no problems. The first time he tried the SwimFin on he couldn't wait to jump in the pool and pretend to be a shark. It was great to see him so happy and enjoying himself at swimming again. I so wished I could have taken photos and videos of him in the pool but since it was a community leisure pool I wasn't allowed. Fair enough though.

As for actual swimming I feel it has definitely brought Logan on a step or two in the 3 weeks we've been trying it out. His arms have far more movement now than they did with arm bands which means he's not just bobbing around in the water but actually having to use his arms to swim himself from one place to the next which I'm thrilled about. Before the SwimFin he would only really use his legs to propel him through the water but now he can use both arms and legs to maneuver.

The SwimFin retails for £21.99 and comes in a large variety of colours.You can even purchase extra straps in regular or large in different colours if you fancy for £6.99.

Overall a brilliant product which I'll be recommending to friends and family. I really wished the other half and I had got one sooner for Logan but at least he's getting the benefits now. It's a cool shark fin shape, light weight and has plenty of colours to choose from. I think the pricing is reasonable compared to other swimming aids on the market and it's a sturdy piece of kit which I can see lasting us a good while.

Mummy's rating - 10/10
Logan's rating 10/10

For more products and information please visit www.swimfin.co.uk. You can also see what they get up to on Facebook and Twitter so why not pop over and say hello! Remember to tell them The Breastest News sent you.


SwimFin provided Logan with his very own blue SwimFin in order for us to conduct this review. All opinions are my own.





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1 comments on "Review: SwimFin"

Honest Mum on 20 December 2014 at 20:50 said...

How fab, saw this on kids on holiday. Great to read such a positive review! We'll be getting one! Thanks for linking up to #brilliantblogposts

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