Did you know that at some point spending time in the swimming pool might become ho-hum for your children? When you first became the proud owners of a swimming pool you probably never thought that would happen, but it can. How can you assure your kids always look forward to spending time in the pool?
Make the swimming pool fun again by introducing these games — many of which don’t require an investment!
The Best Swimming Pool Games For Kids
Find the “invisible” bottle. Fill a clear plastic bottle (soda or water) with water and drop it into the swimming pool. You will be surprised how hard it is to find. The only giveaway might be the cap, so you may want to paint it the color of your pool’s interior or keep it as is to give the kids a bit of a head start.
Be a mermaid. Your children and their friends can have “mermaid” races. This is when they swim from one end of the pool to the other or from one side to the other and keep their feet together — like a mermaid tail! It is more difficult than it looks and you can “disqualify” those who don’t keep their feet together during the race.
Beachball volleyball. Grab a beach ball or two and divide the kids into teams and play “volleyball” with the beachball.
Noodle jousts. Grab a bunch of pool noodles and let the kids have a jousting match with them.
Shark or tag. The “shark” can wear fins and will swim around trying to “tag” others. In this more challenging version, the kids can get into and out of the water. The only caveat is they can only stay out of the water for five seconds. If you want to make it easier, then don’t allow them to jump out of the water. Shark is usually more fun for teens than the younger set.
Ping pong fetch. Grab some ping pong balls and toss them into the pool and see how challenging it is to find and grab them before they bounce away! Amp up the fun by numbering or coloring some of the ping pong balls and offer a prize for each number and have a grand prize for grabbing the colored ping pong balls.
Marco Polo. This a tried and true game. It’s fun and that’s why it’s still popular! The person who is “Marco” closes his or her eyes and yells out “Marco” while everyone else in the pool yells out “Polo.” Marco is charged with touching a “polo” in order to “win.” The next person tagged is then “Marco.”
Whirlpool. If you have a small pool this works best. All of the children begin moving in one direction and the water gets churned up and turns into a whirlpool. Once it’s really moving, the kids can stop churning and jump into the churning water!
Cannonball contest. This is just plain, splashy fun! Whomever makes the biggest splash is the winner!
Whack-a-mole. Give one or two kids (depending on how many are in the pool) a pool noodle. The others in the pool will bob up and down and stay underwater to avoid getting “whacked” with the pool noodle. If you get hit with the noodle, you’re “out.” until all of the kids have been “whacked” with the noodle.
What are your favorite in-pool games?