Of course, it is also important that young ones are very carefully supervised around swimming pools, which is another reason why it is a good idea for parents to join in too and not just leave them to it. If kids behave themselves then there is no reason to think that swimming pools can be dangerous, but as all parents know, children cannot always be trusted to do what they are told.

Parents not only have a responsibility to watch their children around the swimming pool but to teach them the right way to behave around any water. Many swimming pools have posters forbidding people from diving in the shallow end, running around the edge of the pool and other activities which could easily end in disaster; parents should highlight these unacceptable behaviours to their own children to make sure that they and others are kept safe.

Siblings will often fight with each other. On dry land, this is an annoyance but near a swimming pool this could end up being dangerous. Pushing and fighting could see a child who cannot swim fall into the deep end or hit their head as they tumble; make sure your children understand exactly why that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated when you go to your local pool.

Teaching a child to swim is one of the most important skills you can give to your kids, but even when young ones have moved beyond needing armbands they will still need close supervision until they are confident swimmers. It can be difficult to keep a close eye on your youngest while your older children are clamouring for your attention to, but make sure you do not take your eyes off them for a second.

There are practical things to teach your children about safety in swimming pools too. As well as basics like not running around the edge, make sure that they always shower before going into the water and keep an eye for little fingers and toes wandering into the drains at the edge. Kids are always attracted by intriguing holes, but they can easily get trapped or hurt if they play with these drains.

Swimming should always be fun otherwise children will soon get tired of going and go back to playing their computer games. However, your family’s safety is much more important than doing what the kid want so that they have a good time.If your children really enjoy their swimming sessions but you are having trouble keeping them under control, you could always try threatening to stop their pool visits to see if that makes them behave.

Related posts:

1. Kellogg’s give £3 million to get kids swimming A major new £3 million sponsorship deal for British Swimming...
2. Holiday Swimming Academies Launched by First Choice Last year, First Choice taught more than 7,000 children to...
3. Intervac home exchange holidays ideal for families It’s no secret that going away during school holidays is...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

There are two names synonymous with the sport of swimming; Michael Phelps and Speedo. Now they have joined forces for a great new campaign from the world famous swimwear manufacturer to get everyone to tell the story of their own unforgettable swim.

All swimmers have one, the unforgettable swim where everything goes perfectly and you come out of the water feeling on top of the world. It could be absolutely anything; you first unassisted length during swimming lessons, a marathon swim for charity or a competitive swim which sees you leave the water as champion.

Speedo has released a video featuring the Baltimore Bullet and winner of 9 Olympic Gold medals, Michael Phelps. He describes, in his own words, how when he was a kid of 7 he was frightened to put his face in the water, and how, when he got past that, he became a world record breaker at 15 and went on to become the phenomenal swimmer that he is known as today.

Speedo wants to know all about your own unforgettable swim, and the link beneath the video will take you straight to the website where you can tell the world about your own special moment and also read everyone else’s. You can choose to upload a video if you want, or just tell your story alongside a photo of yourself.

They are called unforgettable swims for a reason, they can instantly be recalled and create a memory that stays with you forever. So don’t keep your story to yourself, tell Speedo, and everyone else, about your own unforgettable swim.

Related posts:

1. Jimi Mistry working for ActionAid on their Unforgettable Moments Campaign Sponsored by Action Aid Jimi Mistry, Eastenders player turned movie...
2. Holiday Swimming Academies Launched by First Choice Last year, First Choice taught more than 7,000 children to...
3. The Kellogg’s Swimtastic Awards 2009 Whether you are learning to swim for the first time,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

YAZOO offer free sport sessions for kids pocket savings

It is getting more expensive and time consuming to keep the kids entertained after school. Hectic work schedules and the rising costs of after school clubs are putting a real strain on families as parents try desperately to juggle their lives while still keeping within a weekly budget.

The latest Which? Survey from July says that 86% of adults in Britain have said that compared to this time last year, their grocery bills have increased so much that saving money on a daily basis has become a priority.

To help these families to save both time and money YAZOO are collaborating with Premier Sport in the UK and is providing sports sessions for kids in England, Wales and Scotland, and with Playball to provide sessions in Northern and Southern Ireland, both of which, offer kids free sporting activities worth up to £15 a session.

Among the activities on offer are dancing, cheerleading, tag rugby and football, giving kids to stay healthy and active while they have fun. The perfect drink for kids after that have played sports is YAZOO milkshake, as studies have found that drinking milk is more beneficial to them than water or a sports drink. Parents can also rest assured that YAZOO is a healthy alternative for kids as it has been approved by schools.

Signing up to take advantage of the free activities couldn’t be easier, once you have bought a multipack of Strawberry, Chocolate or Banana YAZOO log onto their website at www.yazoo.co.uk and enter the unique code on the pack to produce a voucher entitling the bearer to attend a free activity.

For further information regarding this offer, please visit http://www.yazoo.co.uk

Related posts:

1. YAZOO milkshakes get a makeover. YAZOO has just made the nation’s favourite milkshake even healthier...
2. Free attractions and free kids pizza in London Not many people would consider that London is a...
3. Kids Travel Free to The Isle of Wight with Red Funnel Visit the Isle of Wight this Easter and enjoy a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The competition is open nationwide and simply involves Facebook entry which makes it a choice for almost any grassroots rugby club that has a player with a few seconds on their hands.  Fifty of those who compete in the AEG campaign will receive shirts that have been designed by Samurai and a washer and dryer straight from AEG that can be used to keep their clothes fresh and crisp despite the harshest falls and the harshest weather conditions.  With the AEG appliances in place, players can stop worrying about their clothes and playing to win the way the game is meant to be carried out.

Even better, if your team is one of the lucky teams that wins you not only get a full set of Samurai sportswear team kits for free, helping to offset the costs of the new season, but you also get the chance to design the kit for your team on your own.  Therefore, you can add in the team colours and even your own logo to make the kits really speak to your team and something that you can cherish for the lfie of the kits; which of course should be pretty lengthy given the fact you have brand new AEG laundry facilities to wash them in.

Applicants for the campaign must be over the age of 16, meaning kids will need to ask their coaches or parents to apply for them, but the challenge is only open to teams that are composed of children that are under the age of 16.  Therefore, make sure that you have a guardian or parent acting to represent the appropriate age group before applying, even if the idea of designing a shirt is too hard to want to wait for.

Those interested simply need to head to www.aeg.co.uk and search for the AEG laundry kit application.  To win a bit more, consider heading over to the AEG Facebook page and uploading a photo that shows the team you are applying on behalf of in their muddiest state out on the game field.  The winning team will get to head to Twickenham to train with the England rugby team which is pretty much any budding rugby stars’ ultimate dream.  Plus, you will even get to play on the England field for a bit so make sure your photo is worth a thousand words.

Related posts:

1. Rugby star Tom Wood makes Tackling Numbers fun England’s latest rugby star, and recently crowned Aviva Premiership Player...
2. Volkswagen Ultimate Family Hero Competition – Chance to win a holiday Vote now and you could win a perfect family break....

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The 1966 World Cup winning England team came in second, whilst Dame Kelly Holmes winning two gold medals in Athens in 2004 came third.

The importance of such major sporting achievements is that the MARS Refuel poll also found that up to a quarter of those polled have been inspired to take up a sport following a major sporting event, by watching sport on TV, or from the success of an elite sportsperson.

In the case of taekwondo World Number 1, Aaron Cooke, sporting inspiration came from an unlikely source!

Aaron explains; “I started Taekwondo when I was five years old because I watched Power Rangers and wanted to be one! It just goes to show sporting inspiration can come from anywhere!”

Aaron is keen that others are inspired to get involved in sport. He continues; “If anyone needs financial support getting active, they should check out the MARS Refuel Drink Fund.”

MARS Refuel drink set up the MARS Refuel Drink Fund to encourage people to try new sports and play their favourite sport for longer.

The fund, which launches on April 2 2011 and runs until September 30 2011, has £5,000 to donate each month to the most deserving applicants.

Applications can be made online at www.marsrefuel.com offering support with anything from equipment and travel costs, to improving training grounds and club houses. The fund will be accepting applications from April 2 2011.

The site will be regularly updated with the names of the people and clubs awarded each month.

The fund is open to residents of, and clubs and organisations based in the UK and Republic of Ireland only. Applicants must be 12 years or over and only one application will be accepted per person, club or organisation.

Related posts:

1. New Pocket Money Petz website from The Children’s Mutual According to new research from The Children’s Mutual, the old...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

An infinitely cooler alternative to traditional skipping, skip-hop is a fusion of sports skipping and street dance that first rocketed to fame in the CBBC series Jump Nation. skip-hop is officially the hippest way for kids to keep fit, and all they need to get started is a skipping rope!  The search is on to find which kid has the ultimate moves to be named skip-hop champion 2010.

Panda Drinks are looking for kids aged 12 or under who thinks they might have what it takes to record a short film of them showing of their best skip-hop techniques (no more than one minute in length).   To make the grade skip-hoppers will have to demonstrate the speed, agility, skill and creativity needed to make it as a future skip-hop star!

To get expert insight on skip-hop and top tips for making filming entrants can visit www.pandadrinks.com.  The competition closes on 30 October.

Here are some more hints and tips to help you take your skipping to the next level before you enter:

• Explore the Panda Does skip-hop section of the site, including skip-hop UK’s brilliant tutorial video!
• Choose some of your favourite skip-hop moves and link them together to make a routine, practice so that one move flows into the next.
• Use simple moves as a link between more tricky moves to help you keep the routine steady.
• Practise your complete skip-hop routine, once you can perform it three times in a row with no mistakes you are ready to film!
• Keep you routine simple and practice it to music to help you keep your rhythm.  A simple routine with no mistakes is better than complicated moves that go wrong!
• Get an adult to help film you skipping and make sure they hold the camera still!
• Download the Panda Guide to skip-hop for even more great tips and ideas.
• Extra prizes will be awarded for the most original routine, the skip-hopper having the most fun, the skip-hop routine that makes us laugh the most and lastly the best synchronized routine with two or more skippers!

Skip-hop UK will judge the entries and name the champion who will win a fantastic Eurocamp seven-night family getaway at any of its parcs.  The ideal opportunity to perfect those skip-hop moves in the open air!

Two skip-hoppers will be chosen as runners up, both becoming a skip-hop star for a day when the guys from skip-hop visit their school to deliver a skip-hop workshop and a skip-hop presentation to the whole school with them as the star! + a goodie bag containing everything they need to take their skipping to the next level and a year’s supply of Panda to keep their thirst quenched while they practice.

To get some skip-hopping inspiration in advance and to download the Panda Guide to skip-hop visit www.pandadrinks.com.  Visit www.skip-hop.co.uk to find out how to find a skip-hop class near you or to get your hands on all the latest skip-hop gear!

In addition, Kidszine also have  a full range of Panda drinks (6 flavours) and a skip-hop set from skip-hop UK to giveaway to a lucky Kidszine reader.  In order to enter, please answer this simple question: “Which country is the native home to Pandas?”.  Email the answer to kidszine@xec.co.uk.  And finally to validate your entry, please sign up to our parenting newsletter.

Entries to be received by 31 October 2010.

Related posts:

1. Competitions & Giveaways KidsZine.co.uk runs frequent competitions and giveaways. Current competitions are: Win...
2. Win a family adventure holiday with Chessington World of Adventures Nick baker To launch its brand new land, Wild Asia,...
3. Fairytale Kids Competition with Colorblind Cards To celebrate the release of the new animated Disney movie...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Teddy Tennis is a new teaching method that inspires young children aged 3½ – 5½ to play tennis and develop a love of sport. It creatively connects to children through music, pictures, stories and teddy bear characters, making learning the elementary skills of tennis and sport, great FUN.

‘Let’s Play Teddy Tennis’ comprises 12 games and exercises that are taught in a typical Teddy Tennis lesson. The games focus on developing three areas or core competence; ‘ball skills’, racket skills’ and movement skills’; collectively these form the foundation for becoming accomplished at most sports and are therefore an excellent learning formula for all young children. The DVD also features the music and pictures that are so successfully utilised in Teddy Tennis lessons.

Richard Bean, co-founder of Teddy Tennis said “The idea behind producing the DVD is to enable children to practice what they have learned in class at home. Also, the DVD enables children who have not had the benefit of being to a Teddy Tennis lesson to learn at home. The games and exercises are very simple to follow especially since it includes the music which not only inspires kids but set the rhythm for the games or exercises.”

As well as getting children active and teaching them to play tennis, Teddy Tennis enhances co-ordination, grows confidence, develops communication skills and introduces young children to the concept of learning.

Roger Draper, Chief Executive of British Tennis said: “We think it is a great idea for the 3 and 5 year olds to build a foundation of good all round athletic fundamentals with music and pictures to help the youngsters understand the learning experience of tennis, we wish them well in their venture.”

Related posts:

1. Role Play for Children – The Benefits Babies and children learn the vast majority of what they...
2. Speekee Spanish learning programme gets the young speaking Spanish Despite Kirsty Young’s recent statements in the press about pushy...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Hyundai has teamed up with SOS Africa and footballing legend John Barnes to help bring new life to your unloved balls. During May and early June a team will be polishing up and bestowing some much needed TLC on all balls bought to their dealerships. They will then send these along with thousands of brand new balls together with 50 sets of school football kits to South Africa. These will then be collected by SOS Africa and distributed among 50 townships schools, 5 in each of the areas surrounding the key stadia.

And if that wasn’t enough, as a thank you for your support, Hyundai will replace your ball with a brand new one so your budding footballers can spend the summer practicing in style.

In the following video John Barnes shows you what you need to do as well as how it will benefit children in poorer countries.

To see the townships and kids that will benefit from Football Scrappage visit www.sosafrica.com

Related posts:

1. Shoe Aid for Africa – UK Families Making a Difference The collection for the 2008/9 Shoe Aid for Africa campaign...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The sport has grown in popularity since the Beijing Olympics last year – with stars such as Rebecca Adlington providing positive role models for rising talent. The sport now plays a wider role in improving health and fitness levels across the UK.

Nowhere else is this more apparent than at the Kellogg’s Swimtastic Awards 2009, which celebrated some of the country’s most outstanding non-elite achievements in the pool. Aimed at amateur swimmers, the awards recognise people of all ages and abilities as well as those responsible for providing learn to swim lessons.

Some have gone beyond the call of duty to help share the love of swimming with their friends, family and community. Others are so committed to bettering themselves or improving the lives of others that they set the standard for others to draw inspiration from, raising money for noble causes or showing the strength of the human spirit in overcoming adversity.

Check out the video:

For more information visit www.kelloggs.co.uk/swimming

Related posts:

1. Kellogg’s give £3 million to get kids swimming A major new £3 million sponsorship deal for British Swimming...
2. What’s On 4 School Kids awards – Voting has Begun Online voting is now open for a new award scheme...
3. Holiday Swimming Academies Launched by First Choice Last year, First Choice taught more than 7,000 children to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Here are the first two, relating to basketball skils and skipping skills. We will add more as they get released.

Basketball Skills

Skipping Skills

Related posts:

1. 5 per cent of children eat no fruit and veg all day according to survey A recently published survey on behalf of Green Giant, the...
2. Kellogg’s give £3 million to get kids swimming A major new £3 million sponsorship deal for British Swimming...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.