Buying new swimwear for your child? This is important to know

UV suits, bathing suits, bikinis, bottoms, swimming shorts; there are several details to keep in mind. We help you on your way.

Where are you going to swim?

To begin with, it is important to know where you will be swimming. Is that the swimming pool a bike ride from your home, the Dutch beach or a nice lake, or are you leaving for a warm country for a sunny holiday? For swimming lessons, a UV suit – often with legs and sleeves, and UV protection UPF 50+ – is not necessary. You swim indoors, so the sun poses no danger to your child. In addition, it is often warm in swimming pools, so that such a closed package is not so comfortable. An ordinary swimming trunks, bathing suit or bikini lends itself perfectly for this.

Such protective swimwear is a good plan on the beach, especially when the sun is very high. In the Netherlands it can vary from 0 to 8, but in countries closer to the equator and in the mountains the sun power can reach a value of 15 or even higher. To illustrate: with a moderate sun strength of 5 or 6, you can burn unprotected in fifteen minutes. In addition, the sun strength is usually highest between 12 noon and 3 pm. Definitely something to keep in mind when shopping.

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Who’s going for a swim?

These UV packs are ideal for babies, because their skin is extra sensitive to sunlight. It’s good to keep your baby in the shade anyway, but you can also get sunburned there and then such a pack with ‘factor 50’ is nothing but nice. For kids who run in and out of the water, a UV suit might not be unwise either. Applying sunscreen to uncovered parts of the body should be done every two hours anyway, but swimming is – even with water resistant-sunburn – not conducive to the action of a cream. This kind of protective swimwear simply cannot be beaten in such a case.

The only drawback: after swimming such a wet, sticky suit is not very nice and it can take a while to dry. It is therefore always useful to take a second package with you as a (dry) backup. There will also be children who do not like such a suit at all and just want to walk around like mom or dad: in a bathing suit or swimming trunks, with a good layer of sunscreen. This is also perfectly fine, but keep in mind that you have to keep applying all the nooks and crannies throughout the day, and get your child out of the sun on time.

How often do you go swimming?

If you can count on one hand the times you see a swimming pool or the sea, you don’t have to buy the most expensive swimwear. Of course, a UV suit must do what it is intended for. But if a bathing suit or swimming trunks, for example, become discolored by the sun, start to pill or start to lubricate after intensive use, this is not an outright disaster for the non-regular bathers. Your child will enjoy it for a while and for the next holiday (if your child probably already has a different size), just shop a new item for a small price.

If you are often at the beach or in the pool with your family, a slightly better quality swimming outfit is sensible. Having to throw away a bathing suit because after two weeks of vacation it is no longer something to peep at, is a shame. Spending a little more for something of stronger material that can take more can pay off in the long run. Your child will enjoy the swimsuit until it no longer fits, not until it falls apart. And perhaps there is even a second life in it for a younger family member, or you sell the item via a second-hand platform. Can you look for a worthy successor from ‘the profit’?

Are you sure which swimwear is best for you? We’ll put the best UV suits, bathing suits and bikinis in a row.

Source: KNMI, Radar

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