Making a Splash: Summer Swim Tips for Sensory-Sensitive Kids

Melody Aguayo • July 11, 2025

For many families, summer means swimsuits, sunscreen, and cannonballs. But for children with sensory sensitivities, water play isn’t always joyful or relaxing. In fact, it can be a deeply uncomfortable or even overwhelming experience.

If you’re raising a sensory-sensitive child, you know that seemingly simple activities—like jumping in the pool or playing at the splash pad—can involve tears, meltdowns, or full-body shutdowns. But with the right preparation, sensory kids can enjoy swimming in a way that feels safe, empowering, and even fun.

Here are practical, compassionate tips to help your child feel more comfortable around water this summer:

1. Start With the Right Swimwear

For sensory kids, clothing matters—a lot. Swimsuits can be especially challenging: they’re often tight, made of unfamiliar materials, and filled with tags, seams, or waistbands that irritate sensitive skin. Let kids swim in whatever they are comfortable swimming in.

Let your child try on different suits at home well before swim day. Look for soft materials, tagless options, and styles that don’t ride up or bind. Rash guards can be helpful if your child is sensitive to sun or skin exposure. And if your child wants to wear something unconventional—like socks or long sleeves in the water—go with it. Comfort leads to confidence.

True story: My son refused socks all year—but in water? Long, knee-high socks were his non-negotiable swim gear for the pool, lake, and creek. And you know what? It worked. He was comfortable, confident, and happy. That’s the goal.

2. Swim Supplies (Goggles and Ear plugs)

Not because they keep water out perfectly (spoiler: they don’t). But because your child thinks they will. That perceived control is incredibly regulating.

So if your child wants goggles, a swim cap, or earplugs—even if it seems unnecessary—go for it. It’s not about the gear. It’s about giving them a sense of power and predictability.

3. Ease In With Water Play at Home

Before heading to a public pool or beach, build your child’s comfort level in a safe, familiar space. A backyard kiddie pool, a sprinkler, a bathtub with toys, or just a bowl of water for splashing can help desensitize their system to the sensations of water.

Let them take the lead. If they want to control how and when they get wet, follow their rhythm. This early exposure builds confidence and trust.

4. Prep for the Environment

Public swimming spaces are filled with sensory input—loud noises, bright sunlight, strong smells, cold water, and crowds. Preparing your child for these sensations can reduce their anxiety.

Talk through what they’ll experience ahead of time: how the pool might smell (chlorine), how loud the splashing might be, or how it might feel to walk on hot pavement. Show pictures or videos of the pool you’ll be visiting. If noise is a trigger, bring headphones or find a quieter time of day to visit.

The more they know what to expect, the safer they’ll feel.

5. Use Visual Cues and Safety Signals

Sensory kids thrive with clear expectations and routines. Help your child feel grounded by establishing visual cues or hand signals for key moments like “take a break,” “time to stop,” or “time to check in.”

Use timers, verbal countdowns, or picture cards to support transitions. Giving warnings before leaving the pool or changing activities can prevent emotional whiplash.

When the environment feels structured and predictable, your child’s nervous system can relax.

6. Respect Their Limits

Forcing your child to swim, dunk their head, or play like “everyone else” can increase fear and resistance. Instead, let them approach the water at their own pace.

If your child wants to sit on the edge with their feet in, that’s enough. If they need several visits to feel comfortable entering the water, that’s okay too. Every step forward is still forward.

Pushing past their comfort zone too quickly can damage trust. Go slow, stay nearby, and let them know you're a safe base.

7. Plan for Meltdowns and Regulation Breaks

Even with preparation, sensory overwhelm can happen. Plan for it.

Have a towel or blanket they can wrap up in, a quiet shaded spot nearby, and a favorite snack or comfort item available. Let them know they can take a break whenever they need it—and that it’s not a failure to step away.

Teach them how to recognize their own signs of dysregulation and support them in returning to a calm state.

8. Celebrate Every Small Win

Sensory progress isn’t linear. Some days your child might surprise you with their confidence; other days, they may regress. That’s normal.

Celebrate the small victories: putting on the swimsuit, dipping toes in the water, tolerating the sounds of a busy pool. These moments matter more than milestones. They are signs that your child is building trust in their environment—and in you.

Final Thought: Let Joy Be on Their Terms

Water play can be wonderful for sensory kids when it’s approached with intention and flexibility. The goal isn’t to have a perfect pool day. The goal is to create conditions where your child feels safe, in control, and free to explore.

It’s okay if your summer doesn’t look like everyone else’s. What matters most is that your child feels seen, respected, and supported—both in and out of the water.

You know your child best. Trust that instinct, follow their cues, and don’t be afraid to redefine what “summer fun” looks like for your family.

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By Melody Aguayo • June 19, 2025

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Staying Connected When Parenting Feels Like Survival Mode

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By Melody Aguayo • May 23, 2025

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By Melody Aguayo • May 16, 2025

Navigating abusive behavior from an adult child can feel like one of the most emotionally devastating and confusing experiences a parent can endure. Consider this: a 22 year old son is still living at home. He doesn’t allow his parents to require anything of him. If they do, he curses at them or breaks something. He is only pleasant when the food he wants is in the fridge and nothing is asked of him. He takes what he wants without permission and at times even pawns his parents things for cash. No one in the family feels emotionally or physically safe anymore.

Letting Go Without Giving Up: Finding Strength In Surrendering Control

By Melody Aguayo • May 9, 2025

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Parenting; Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome

By Melody Aguayo • May 2, 2025

“Sometimes I think about writing a book about our own healing journey,” I told a friend of mine. She responded, “I think you should wait a while, and then you can write about how your kids turn out.” I didn’t have to think long before responding because it is something I had already considered. I said, “That sort of thinking implies that the process was worthless if the outcome isn’t perfect.” The process is what matters. Did you love your child well today? Did you encourage and connect with your child? Outcome parenting is parenting with certain goals in mind. Outcome parenting creates an environment where children feel as though they have to earn their worth, an environment where opportunities for joy are missed because the outcome the parent has in mind remains unachieved. Outcome parenting has few pivotal moments that determine whether or not the child/ parent has been successful. Examples of these pivotal moments would be making the travel soccer team, graduating from college, making the varsity cheerleader squad, staying in honors classes, marrying well, looking a certain way, having the right friends, etc.

Trauma, Boundaries, and the Battle for Safety

By Melody Aguayo • March 28, 2025

To Set Appropriate Boundaries, You Must Have an Experience of Safety Children who have experienced developmental trauma (in the womb or in early childhood) have an over-active arousal system. This means that even if they are safe, they don’t feel safe. This lack of understanding what “safe” feels like creates lots of boundary issues as they get older. The Under-Boundaried Kid “I feel like I can’t let my kid out of my sight.” “My kid would follow someone off a cliff.” “My kids would try any substance that was given to them. They literally have no sense of independence or safety.” These are the types of phrases I hear from parents with under-boundaried kids. These kids do generally well in the right environment, but if there are rotten apples in the bunch, they join them quickly in whatever activity they are engaging in. They may stay out of trouble until they get a phone, and then they begin to unravel at that point. The Over-Boundaried Kid “My child is always ready to fight.” “Honestly, I hate to ask anything of her. I would rather do it myself than deal with her attitude for every small request.” “My kiddo bosses everyone around. I am shocked he still has any friends.” “She doesn’t care if she breaks our rules or makes us upset.” “He just does whatever he wants.” These are some phrases I hear from parents of over-boundaried kids. These kiddos often avoid safety and seek danger out. Safety feels unfamiliar to them. Safety feels boring and eerily peaceful. Yes, kids can also move back and forth between being over-boundaried and under- boundaried as well, which is extra complicated.

Trapped in Toxicity: Protecting Children from Harmful Environments

By Melody Aguayo • March 21, 2025

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How to get free childcare in the summer?

By Melody Aguayo • March 7, 2025

Sign up for every VBS within a 20-minute drive from your home. If you plan it out well and start early, you can end up with 6 or 7 weeks of free childcare. Plus, you have the added benefit of having your kids scream, “Hey, that’s our church!” every time you drive past any chapel in any direction. Do not hold me accountable for the annoying songs your children will sing loudly ALL YEAR LONG even if your eyes start twitching. And you know how you “lose” things you no longer want your kids to play with, watch, or listen to? Well, you can only “lose” two of the song CDs before your kids catch on.