Taking the Kids™
Going Snorkeling
Jane was in a quandary. She didn’t want to miss snorkeling but she didn’t want to spring for an expensive excursion her seven-year-old would hate either.
She took a chance—what are vacations for, after all—and signed herself and her daughter, Allison, up for an all-day boat trip. Her gamble paid off big time. Allison, who had never snorkeled, was mesmerized by the fish, her mother reported. “She didn’t want to get out of the water!”
Indeed, the day turned out to be one of the highlights of their vacation. Just getting there and back on the boat was such an adventure for the kids,” explained Jane, a few weeks later from her New York City office. That the water was calm and the weather perfect helped.
So did the two other little girls in the group. Jane had purposely arranged to join another family on the excursion so Allison wouldn’t be the only young snorkeler. Wearing life vests and hanging on to a rubber ring, the trio could comfortably explore the underwater world, watching red, yellow, and blue fish dart in and out of the weird-shaped coral formations.
Of course it’s not always that easy—even for the experts. My daughter, Melanie, decked out in her own pink snorkel with matching fins, refused to jump off the boat to join us in the water the time we tried to take her snorkeling when she was six. No amount of coaxing would change Melanie’s mind. She didn’t like the waves: The water was admittedly choppy that day. She didn’t like being so far from shore. She took a nap on the boat while we snorkeled, not at all concerned about what she might be missing.
Here’s how the experts say to get the kids started:
- Practice with a snorkel and mask in a swimming pool.
- Always wear a life jacket.
- Stay together in the water, assigning each family member a buddy.
- Seek out beaches where the coral reefs are close to shore. Wherever there is a reef, there’s plenty of marine life
- Bring a life raft or floating mattress so the kids can float along, putting their face in the water only when they want to. They’ll get less tired, and they might not be so reluctant to venture further offshore.
- Get a laminated card identifying and naming the fish you’re likely to see. Let the kids make a game of how many they spot.
My best investment proved to be snorkeling gear for each of us—under $25 for Melanie. It more than paid for itself in the money we saved on rentals. (Typically $5 or more per person per day.) Even better, we saved a lot of time and were in the water long before the snorkelers who were waiting on line to get gear.
By: Eileen Ogintz
