Girls swimwear: myths vs reality for the pool and the beach
In most houses, girls swimwear gets chosen the same way. Your daughter points at the one with strawberries on and you check the age on the label. Job done.
It’s a perfectly reasonable way to buy a costume, and she’s far more likely to wear one she picked herself. What it can’t tell you is whether she’ll still be warm at the end of a half-hour lesson, or whether the pool will even let her in if she isn’t potty trained yet.
A lot of what gets passed around about girls swimwear is half right at best. Here’s what tends to be said, and what actually happens.
Myth: a swimming costume is all she needs for lessons
If your daughter is potty trained, a costume that fits well is usually all you need, with a rash vest over the top if she feels the cold or the straps rub. If she’s still in nappies, you’ll need a swim nappy underneath, because most swim schools and public pools ask for one before she goes anywhere near the water.
A swim nappy has one job, which is to hold in poo so it doesn’t end up in the pool. It won’t hold wee and isn’t designed to, so change her into a regular nappy as soon as she’s out of the water.
Splash About’s Happy Nappy™ is built around a snug fit at the waist and thighs, and wearing it under a costume gives the double layer that many swim schools look for.
Why can’t she just wear a normal nappy?
A regular nappy is made to absorb, and in a pool it does exactly that. It soaks up water from all around it, swells, gets heavy and starts to pull down, which is uncomfortable for her and does nothing to keep the pool clean.
Myth: older girls have grown out of leak protection
If your daughter still needs leak protection at seven or eleven, she’s far from the only one, even if it rarely comes up at the poolside. Whether it’s down to a medical condition or she’s simply taking a bit longer, swimming can start to feel off-limits when you’re worried about an accident in the water.
Splash About makes incontinence swimwear for girls aged 4 to 13 that looks like an ordinary costume from the outside. Its Splash Shorts sit underneath a standard swimsuit and are shaped to the body, so there’s no bulk to give anything away. Like a baby swim nappy, they’re designed to stop poo leaking and won’t hold urine, so the same rule applies: change her as soon as she’s out.
Myth: a heated pool means she won’t get cold
Children lose heat faster than adults because they have more skin relative to their body size. A lesson also involves a surprising amount of sitting on the step waiting for a turn, so by the last ten minutes a small swimmer can be shivering in a pool that feels pleasantly warm to you.
If she’s cold, you’ll see it in how quickly she tires and starts clinging to the side, which undoes much of the confidence the lesson was meant to build. Blue lips and chattering teeth mean it’s time for a warmer layer.
“The shivering usually starts while they’re waiting, not while they’re swimming,” says Laura Allen, at Splash About. “A baby or toddler can spend a good part of a half-hour lesson sat on the step or held still in the water while the teacher works with someone else, and that’s when they lose heat. We’d always say put the thermal layer on before the lesson instead of waiting until she’s cold, because once a little one is shivering, the lesson is usually over for them whether it has finished or not.”
Which thermal layer suits which pool?
For babies and young toddlers, Splash About’s Warm In One™ is fleece-lined and covers the arms and legs. Thermaswim suits are a stretchier thermal layer that moves more easily with an active child, and they can go over a costume or a Happy Nappy™.
Check the pool temperature before you pack one, though. Splash About advises against wearing Thermaswim in water above 32°C, and some baby pools run warmer than the main pool.
For older girls swimming in the sea or an outdoor pool, a shorty wetsuit keeps her body warm while leaving her arms and legs free to kick.
Myth: sun cream does the job on its own
Sun cream matters, but it washes off in the water and rubs off on towels, so you’ll be reapplying it every time she comes out, which is a lot to keep on top of during a busy beach day. UV swimwear protects whatever it covers for as long as she’s wearing it, with nothing for you to top up.
The NHS advises keeping babies under six months out of direct sunlight, and encouraging children to play in the shade between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is strongest.
Splash About’s UV Sun & Sea Suits and rash vests are made from UPF50+ fabric. A legionnaire hat covers the back of the neck and the tops of the ears, the two places sun cream most often gets missed. Anything you leave uncovered, like her face and feet, still needs cream.
What does UPF50+ actually mean?
UPF is the fabric version of SPF. A UPF50 rating means the material lets through around a fiftieth of the sun’s UV, so roughly 98% is blocked, and it keeps working without being topped up.
Myth: buying a size up means she’ll get two summers out of it
Swimwear that’s too big fills with water and drags, and a costume that keeps slipping off her shoulders spends the lesson being hitched up instead of swum in. On a swim nappy, the stakes are higher, since a gap at the leg is exactly where leaks escape.
You’re looking for a snug fit at the waist and thighs that doesn’t leave deep red marks when it comes off. Splash About’s girls’ sizes run from age 1 to 13, but a tape measure will serve you better than the age on the label, because two children of the same age can be very different shapes.
How do you make girls swimwear last?
Rinse it in fresh water as soon as you can after every swim, then let it air dry. Chlorine and salt water both break down swimwear fabric over time, and if you leave a costume balled up in a wet swim bag until next Saturday, it takes the worst of it.
Keep it out of the tumble dryer, because heat affects both the shape and the UV protection of the fabric. If it needs a proper wash now and then, 30°C with a non-biological detergent is gentle enough.
What should be in her swim bag?
The swimwear is only half of it. The end of a swim is usually where things unravel, and a couple of extras make it much easier:
- A regular nappy for straight afterwards, if she’s in a swim nappy, since it won’t hold wee on the journey home.
- A hooded poncho towel, which gets her warm the moment she’s out and lets an older girl change underneath it on a busy poolside.
A wet bag keeps the damp costume away from everything else, and means you can rinse it as soon as you’re through the door.
Splash About arranges its range by what each piece is for. Costumes, rash vests, UV suits and legionnaire hats come in matching prints such as Strawberry Field and Lilac Spring, so it’s easy to put together a set she’ll actually want to wear.
The print can stay her decision. The fit and what goes underneath are yours, and those are usually what decide whether she climbs out asking when she can go again.
If you’re not sure what your daughter needs for her age or her pool, Splash About’s customer service team can talk you through the options.