Fun and Healthy Pool Games For Kids

Image credit: alexisnyal of Flickr

There are a lot of games that kids can play in the pool. The fun starts with just being in the pool, which provides a wonderful place for the kids to play.

Let them create. Kids are inventive and ingenious – allowing all of that creative talent to come out in playing pool games may be all that is needed. If the parent doesn’t understand the game the kids have come up with, that’s fine – sometimes kids will create games with complex rules that only make sense to them. Let the kids have fun, and sit back and enjoy watching. If the kids need a prompt, several games can be suggested that will get the fun started:

Marco Polo. Sometimes this game will start on its own, when a couple of the kids jump in the water, and someone closes their eyes and yells out “Marco.” The rest of the kids shriek, yell “Polo” and begin to try to get away by either swimming underwater, or slowly swimming away, so they’re not detected by the sounds they make. One variation of the game allows players to get out of the pool to protect themselves. If the person who is “it” calls “fish out of water,” the person out of the pool becomes the next “it.” Sometimes the kids might need a rules clarification from Mom, but other than that, they’ll just play until they get tired.

Shark in the water. If the kids get tired of Marco Polo, there’s a fun variation where one child is designated as the shark. Everyone else gets out of the water, and once the game starts, can only stay out of the water for 5 seconds. The players all jump into the pool and try to swim to the edge without getting “tipped” or touched, by the shark. To make it really fun, provide goggles and swim fins for the shark.

Dolphins in the water. This game is pretty simple to start, and when it’s timed, becomes a fun race game. Have the children pair off, and select one child in each pair to be the “arms” and the other to be the “legs.” The “legs” hold on to the “arm’s” waist, and the pair starts across the pool, with the “arms” only using their arms, and letting their legs not move, so not to hurt the child behind them. The “legs” do the kicking for the pair. When the kids get into the race, it’s a lot of fun to watch this game!

Pool basketball. It just takes a basketball goal at one end of the pool to get this game started. Pool toys for kids can be found here, and there is a wide variety to choose from. Usually the goal is set up along the side of the pool where the water is about waist deep or a little deeper. The kids wade around trying to pass the ball to each other, and toss it in to the basket. If games are played to 10 it allows players to switch sides and play a lot of games.

Kids need very little guidance to come up with some entertaining games that keep them happy and occupied while in the pool. A Mom can sit back and enjoy seeing her kids and their friends having so much fun.

Carol Atkins currently writes articles on assignment for PoolCenter.com.  She has 3 kids with her wonderful husband – two boys and a girl – and two lovely black Labradors.  After studying things like pool pump motors to design their pool for maximum efficiency, she spends hours with her family at their home pool, watching the kids and dogs splash and play.  She is also an avid runner, and diligently training for her first half marathon.