Heat wave: How to stay cool in the swimming pool

Water absorbs heat 25 times faster than air. That means, that even if the water feels warm it will have a cooling effect. A swimming pool is a great way to stay cool, when the temperature almost hits 100 Fahrenheit. Here are some ideas of how to cool off.

Make drinking fun!
First of all, don’t forget the necessary precautions. Most important: Drink plenty of fluids and get out of the sun during the hottest part of the day. Make drinking fun! Get ice cube trays with different shapes. Do not only fill them with water, but with different colored juices. The kids will love to mix cranberry-red ice cube-stars with orange juice cubes.

Sports drinks are a great choice for hot days. Make lemonade. If you do not feel like squeezing out lemons, there are plenty of powders, which also provide the necessary electrolytes your body needs. Decorate with peppermint leaves, little paper umbrellas, a slice of lime, lemon or orange. Make your own punch. For a healthier choice, use real fruit, juice and sparkling water. Watermelon and lemons mixed with some sweet mango-juice are a fabulous choice. Don’t forget plenty of ice cubes.

Ice-cold Games
Make pool time even cooler by putting some ice cubes in the pool. Who can catch the most, before they are melted? Frozen water bottles make also good dive toys. And who could resists having a sip of the watery treasure, which just got saved, from the deepest end of the pool. For another fun game put a few ice cubes at the side of the pool. Let the kids lift them with their toes and throw them in the pool. This is not only a great way to improve coordination; it sure will cool off some hot feet.

Play it safe
To safely enjoy your time in the pool don’t forget to wear sunscreen, or - even better - get rash guards for the whole family. Use a sun hat when possible and stay out of the sun during the hottest part of the day.