The Importance of Learning to Swim

When I was at middle school, we were really lucky to have a swimming pool and so we had weekly lessons. Everyone could pretty much swim, some better than others but we all had that skill from an early age. At the time the lessons felt like a bit of a chore, especially as our swimming teacher was a bit of a dragon! But looking back now I'm so pleased we were given the chance to learn.

When Elliot was born I signed him up to swimming lessons with Turtle Tots who do brilliant baby swimming classes. I remember his first lesson and he looked so cute in his little neoprene nappy!

We swam with Turtle Tots until Elliot was around 3 years old and then switched to a different lesson at our local sports centre. He was put in a class with children a couple of years older than him (I think by accident, I think they thought he was older than he was as he was really big!). This did him the world of good and his swimming came on in leaps and bounds as he was constantly swimming at an older level. He might have been the youngest but he certainly kept up!

It was at this point that we had a holiday in Florida. We stayed in a villa which had a private pool and Elliot swam every day at every opportunity! It was great for him to be able to jump in as many times as he liked and we saw a massive difference just after these two weeks. He loved it - even if the water was so cold at first!

I think that having swimming lessons from an early age really helped his confidence in the water. Obviously the skills are vital but the confidence is just as important. Even when Elliot was a toddler he had no fear in the water and very confident - something that was commented on alot when we were on holiday in Cyprus and Elliot was hurtling down the water slides!!

Erin seems to be taking after her brother and has morphed into a bit of a water baby! Just like Elliot, she began swimming with Turtle Tots when she was around 3 months old and absolutely loves her lessons. She has recently started jumping in from the side and she loves doing this!

I LOVE the underwater shoot we did with Turtle Tots Dorset! 

Elliot wears goggles in his swimming lessons now as a lot of the time is spent swimming under water. He wasn't a fan of goggles at first but we've recently found the perfect pair, what 5 year wouldn't want a Superman pair?! The Simply Swim website features a whole host of goggles, from childrens, beginners and right through to those serious about swimming. I have my eye on the Vorgee goggles - the rainbow mirror ones are very cool!

loves the goggles...not so keen on the hat!

Here in Dorset we live a few miles from the beach so dips in the sea make up a big part of our Summer. We usually just paddle (it's never quite warm enough to swim!) but I know that should he ever get in trouble in the water he has the skills and the confidence to get himself out of trouble.

We have a couple of holidays booked for this year and I know that the swimming pool will be the number one draw for the children!

Do your children do swimming lessons? What age did they start?

*Disclaimer - this is a sponsored post

Baby Swimming with Turtle Tots

When Elliot was 4 month old, we began baby swimming lessons with Turtle Tots - it was a brilliant experience and I'm so glad we did it. He's so confident in the water and is now in a swimming class with kids who are 1/2 years older than him.

When Erin was born I knew that I'd like to take her to swimming lessons and I began looking around to see what availability was in my area. Coincidentally, Turtle Tots were starting a brand new baby class at a local holiday park, just 5 minutes drive from my house - hows that for good timing!

Well, I had a feeling she might like being in the pool and I was right - she LOVED it!! She had a big smile from the first minute we got in the pool and we've not had any tears yet 5 lessons in.

The lessons are just as I remembered with Elliot and it was great to be back in the pool...I remembered all the words to the songs we learnt back then too ;)

The babies are taught to swim using songs and repetition and given cues to enable them to swim underwater. By practising the cues each week, this gets the baby used to having water on their face and prepares them for going underwater.

Erin is encouraged to kick her legs as she swims and we have been practising swimming on her back. As she progresses she will be able to hold on to the side by herself  and swim with a woggle.

I think it's so important for children to be able to swim and lessons such as Turtle Tots give them the necessary skills and confidence to do so. I know lots of new mums wonder whether baby swimming lessons are worth it and I would say a big fat yes!

One tired baby after half an hour in the pool!

A Family Friendly Holiday to Majorca

It has become a bit of a tradition in our house to get away for a holiday in September - last year it was Florida and the year before that Cyprus. This year has been slightly different as I'm pregnant so a long haul flight wasn't really an option!

We decided to try somewhere different and opted for Port de Pollenca in Majorca. Not only is it just a 2 hour flight from the UK but we were able to fly from our local airport Bournemouth which is a real bonus and much easier for families travelling with children.

Accommodation - Playa Mar

We booked with Thomson and picked the Aparthotel Playa Mar due to it's brilliant reviews on Trip Advisor and location. The hotel was very family friendly and perfect for us - and it certainly lived up to the glowing reviews! Our apartment had a large bedroom with two single bed, plus a double sofa bed in the lounge. There was a large bathroom, kitchenette and a balcony overlooking the pool. We were situated quite close to the bar so I was concerned it might be too noisy in the evenings but we needn't have worried. The entertainment finished at 1030pm and Elliot was so exhausted each day that he fell asleep with no interruptions from the noise! There was different entertainment each night including a magic show, acrobatics and Jackson 5 tribute - Elliot got picked to be in the magic show which he loved!

The hotel had a brilliant splash park for children and Elliot spent lots of time in this over the week. There was also several waterslides which were really popular with him! The swimming pool had a large shallow area for children and was lovely and clean. The water was absolutely freezing but soon warmed up once you were in! Plenty of sunbeds to be had, we never had an issue finding somewhere to sit although I imagine this might be different in peak seasons. We travelled in late September so the resort wasn't as busy as it had been through the Summer Holidays. 

Although the hotel had a Thomsons kids club, we never actually made it to this! The hotel had a separate entertainment team who did lots of activities for the children - we took part in water polo, tshirt making, face painting, discos and even a birthday party for the hotel brand mascot! 

We went all inclusive which I think is so much easier when you have children. Before Elliot we would never have booked all inclusive, preferring to explore our local surroundings and finding local restaurants. But now I find it so much easier  - drinks and ice creams whenever you like, plus the variety of the buffet! The food was brilliant at our hotel - lots of choice and everything lovely and fresh. Each night there was a different theme such as Mexican, Asian and traditional Spanish. We all certainly ate very well! 

Port de Pollenca

Our hotel was situated on the outskirts of town but it was a pleasant 20 minute walk along the famous Pine Walk to reach the Marina. All along the Pine Walk there are shallow coves and the water is so clear. It was a really nice place to stop for a paddle and Elliot had lots of fun splashing about looking for fish! There are lots of restaurants situated along the Pine Walk and this would be a perfect spot for a drink and watching the world go by.

You might even spot the seaplane whilst walking along the Pine Walk - several times a day it takes off from the military base and scoops up water to drop on the scrub lands in the mountains to reduce fires. We didn't see it take off but we saw it fly over the hotel - it made me jump out of my skin as it was low!

Food

We didn't eat out a great deal but on the occasions we did, it had to be tapas! We found a great little cafe one lunchtime which was tucked away on one of the side streets in Port de Pollenca. We ordered a mixed tapas and I wasn't really sure what to expect but it came out in a big dish with lots of yummy things like mushrooms, omelette, vegetables and potatoes. It doesn't sound very exciting but it was lovely! On another occasion we had tapas in Port de Soller and Elliot really really enjoyed it, but especially the squid. Personally one of my favourite things about eating out in Spain is fresh bread and aioli - I would have that with every meal!

Day Trips

We decided to hire a car on our holiday so we could explore a bit of the island. Majorca has so much to offer and we only really scratched the surface but here are some of our favourite things we discovered: 

Cap de Formentor

Cap de Formentor is the most Northerly point of Majorca and the views on your way up through the mountains are breathtaking. But not good for those of a nervous disposition...! We drove up from Port de Pollenca stopping at Mirador es Colomer. The views from this look out point are spectacular but I'd definitely recommend going early or late to beat the crowds - there's not much parking and it was a bit crazy with cars trying to pull over at every opportunity.

Mirador es Colomer

Mirador es Colomer - looking back towards Port de Pollenca

Leaving here and heading up to the Cap de Formentor, the roads were some of the most narrow and bendy I have ever been on. Combine this was lots of tourists in cars, plus lots of cyclists and it was a nerve-wracking drive. I felt my blood pressure rising! 

When we rounded the corner and saw the lighthouse at the Cap de Formentor in the distance, we were faced with a massive queue of cars all winding along the road up to the top. Rather than wait in line where it looked to be one in, one out of the car park we decided to turn round and head back. Pity, but maybe we will make it up there next time!

You can see the queue...gulp!

Port de Soller

Port de Soller is a pretty coastal village that we visited almost by accident. We had taken the scenic route through the mountains towards the town of Soller where the plan was to catch the train to Palma (a trip we had read about prior to our holiday) but ended up stopping off in Port de Soller and staying for a few hours! You can actually catch a tram from Port de Soller to Soller and Elliot had lots of fun waving at everyone who went past and shouting "Hola!"

The seafront has lots of bars and restaurants so we stopped for tapas at a place called Restaurante Mar y Sol, it made a nice change not to be eating at the hotel! We had a wander round the marina and sat and watched the world go by for a bit. It was a really bustling little area but it looked like there were a lot of organised excursions passing through - we spotted a fair few Thomson uniforms!

A visit to Alcudia's Old Town

One afternoon we drove down to Alcudia which is a little further on round the coast from Port de Pollenca. Alcudia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Majorca and we were keen to have a look round the old town which we'd heard great things about.

Much of the old town is surrounded by a wall dating back to the 14th Century and we were able to climb and walk along some of this, with some great views across the beautiful houses and winding, narrow streets. Elliot was fascinated with the arrow loops in the wall!

The old town was really pretty and fortunately when we visited it wasn't too busy. I read that market days can be extremely busy and hectic but by visiting later in the day we missed the crowds. We stopped for a quick snack in one of the many cafes dotted along the streets and Elliot was tempted by all the lovely ice cream shops!

Exploring the Coast by Boat

I love going out on boat trips when on holiday and this time we decided to rent out our own boat, something we hadn't done before. We found a company based down at the marina in Port de Pollenca called Sea Adventure who were really helpful and we even got an upgrade on the boat to a slightly larger one! Elliot had a life jacket to wear and they even provided us with a cool box for our drinks so that was useful.

We had the boat from 9-2pm and this gave us plenty of time to make our way along the coastline and we were able to moor up for a swim in the sea which was refreshing! I was a bit wary and didn't really like not being able to touch the bottom however Elliot had no fear and jumped in several times!

All that swimming tired Elliot out and he actually fell asleep on the way back!

Spot the sleeping boy!

I feel like we have only really scratched the surface of what Majorca has to offer but we were so impressed with what we did see. It is the perfect location for a family holiday and I am pretty certain we will go back again!