Beach Day!!! Lake versus Ocean swimming!!!

Living in Canada is a tough one for me with beaches. Jamie, my lovely husband, keeps telling me that I am too spoiled, and I agree, I am. I grew up with white sand, not rocks or soil, and blue water that was never too cold for me to swim in. I am, and will always be, an island girl. My kids are not so picky. They love the water and are happy to swim wherever there is swimming, be it a lake, the sea, the ocean, or a pool.

I’ve enjoyed beach days with my girls, both in Canada and now here in the BVI, and there are notable differences between the two. The girls enjoy both, and have loads of fun, but lake and ocean swimming each has a different appeal. I am not a world traveller, and my experience with lakes is limited to those we have visited in Ontario, Canada. These observations are solely based on our family beach excursions.

1. Fresh Water vs Salt Water.

“It burns Mummy!”

“Yes, I know. Just wipe your eyes, blink it off, and get back to it.”

So, my older 4 girls remembered the sea and were prepared for the salt when we went to the beach. My younger 2 kids, who were only 4 and 1 when we last visited the islands, were not. When the wonderful seawater splashed into their now 9 and 6-year-old eyes, they screamed and cried, clutching at their faces in pain, and yelling out, “I can’t see!” Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but they did cry, complain, and refuse to reopen their eyes. They eventually came to terms with the fact that salt water stings, and they were able to enjoy the rest of the day.

Mom Tested Recommendation – Get goggles!! My kids won’t swim without them, especially in the ocean. It minimizes the incident of painful salty eyeballs. We’ve several pairs of Body Glove goggles and the kids love them. They cover both the nose and the eyes, and they fit great. They are easy to adjust as well when you want to share with others.

2. Sediment and Stones vs Loose Sand.

“We brought the beach home!”

“Yes you did.”

My kids love to collect those beautiful smoothened rocks that you find at the lake. The larger ones are great for crafts, painting, or adorning your garden. The smaller ones are so pretty you could easily put them into jars to display. The downside is that those rocks are often difficult and uncomfortable to walk on, and when collecting them they get heavy fast. At the end of the beach day, it’s usually J or myself stuck lugging them back to the car.

Not all lakes we went to were stoney, but even though there was sand, it wasn’t as loose as that on my island’s beaches. It seemed heavier, and more packed.

Mom Tested Recommendation – Rocks are pretty. I collected them as a kid too, so I get it. Because they are sometimes hard to walk on, consider getting water shoes for the kids to wear to the lake. If your kids collect them, take a sturdy bucket or bag to the beach with you and remember, lift with your knees.

On the other side of the scale, island sand is fine and fantastic. It gently sieves through your fingers and toes, and it’s beautiful to walk on. The thing is, it gets EVERYWHERE! It’s not just on your feet, no, it’s in your bathing suit bottoms, your hair, your bags and towels. No matter how much you shake off or dust out, it’s still there. I tried to comb my daughter’s hair out after a beach run, and she had sand on her scalp like dandruff (those who know my kids could probably guess which kid this was lol).

Mom Tested Recommendation – Walk with a bucket or empty gallon-sized water bottle. You can fill them with seawater and use that to wash off their feet, and shoes once you are back at your car. You will find that a lot of beaches will not have stations where you can rinse the sand off of your body. If you have a hose at home give your kids a good hosing off before they hop into the tub. Make sure they wash the sand out of their underwear or it will end up on your floors when they undress.

3. Cool vs Warm Water.

“Your lips are blue!! It’s time to get out of the water.”

I can only speak of my experience with taking the girls to the lakes in Ontario, but the water always seemed much cooler than the water on my island, even during the summer months. The kids still swam, but their lips turned blue pretty quickly. The kids were just happy that the lakes were finally unfrozen, a problem we don’t have to contend with on the islands, but because of that they often stayed in the cold water too long.

Mom Tested Recommendation – Get them out of the water at intervals, and warm them up before letting them go back in. You have to pay attention to them as they are often too busy having fun to realize that their body temperature is dropping. Keep a close eye out for the blue lips and shivering. Consider long sleeve beachwear as it will help against the chill.

4.Less Clear vs Crystal clear water

“Mummy, I can see the fish!”

“Don’t worry, they won’t bite.”

I have seen images of unbelievable, gorgeous, crystal-clear Canadian Lakes, but my statement is based on my general experience. With most of the beaches I have visited on my island, you can look down and see your feet and the fish as they swim around them. That just doesn’t seem to be the general case at Ontario Lakes. Similarly, I haven’t been to any ocean beaches in other parts of the world, and they might have murky waters as well. Poor clarity could very well be a result of varying outside factors that are specific to a location.

Mom Tested Recommendation – Swimming in the ocean is exciting because kids will often see small fish darting around nearby. However, be careful because sometimes there are sea creatures such as jellyfish and stingrays in the shallows. Keep a watchful eye out, and if your kids do spot such creatures, have them distance themselves and let you know immediately.

5. Regular hair vs Unusually tangled hair.

“Ouch, you’re pulling my hair out!!!!!!”

“Sorry, I’m doing my best.”

I have 6 girls, each with a different texture of hair. Their hair texture ranges from 3b to 4c, so hair days are always…umm…fun. I have noticed that when swimming in the salty sea their hair gets ridiculously, unbelievably tangled. My kids with the type 3 texture hair were able to detangle easily enough, but their hair still felt stiff. My kids with type 4 textured hair had their neat two-strand twists almost turn into locs after swimming. I don’t know the science behind it or why, but I can say for sure that the saltwater did something to their hair that the freshwater didn’t.

Mom Tested Recommendation – Have hair conditioner ready. Rinsing alone still resulted in stiff unmanagable hair. Conditioner helped a LOT!!

So that’s it for now. Yes, there are differences between lake and ocean /sea swimming, but I can appreciate both. Is one better than the other? It all comes down to what your personal preference is. Some people love the refreshing chill of a lake, while others like myself, crave the warm ocean waves. Whatever your preference is, always swim safe, enjoy the water, and keep an eye on your little ones.

Happy Summer Swimming!