Recently I talked about sibling rivalry or in my personal opinion, how having a sibling, and one that really cares for their younger sister, has really helped develop Darcie at an earlier age. One of those areas is particularly swimming, so much so that both children now undertake lessons and look forward to their time in the pool.
Having both a regular event which both children participate in (albeit at differing ends of the pool) as well as being just after school means that it doesn’t affect our weekend together as a family but does mean that due to work commitments, its mainly a one parent role. Timescales are pretty tight, picking up H straight from school and getting through the school hour traffic with around 15 minutes to spare means that no messing around is affording in getting changed into their swimwear and ready for the lessons to begin and therefore its important for both children to be as independent as possible when getting changed.
One thing that has really aided with getting the little ones to take more of a responsibility is having their own swimming bags, not only to they have to ensure their bags are ready for swimming the night before, it also means they can work independently in getting changed on entering the leisure centre. Previously they have had simple drawstring bags which although served a purpose, didn’t really give them much pride in what they were being asked to carry and would often be dragged across the car park and left to Mrs F to carry.
Trunki, the makers of the famous and original ride on suitcases, got in touch to ask if the children would like to upgrade their bags for their Trunki PaddlePak. For those not aware, Trunki’s PaddlePaks, similar to their other ranges come in the form of animals and we were kindly sent “Inky the Octopus” and “Kaito the KillerWhale” for the children to try out. For reference, PaddlePaks come in two different sizes, medium (holding 7.5 litres) and large (10 litres) so are perfect for differing ages of children with the large suitable from ages 5 and above.
PaddlePaks are made from a waterproof lightweight material too so unlike others around these weigh next to nothing to begin with meaning you only have to worry about the weight you put inside them. The shoulder straps are adjustable as you’d expect but are incredibly padded, just like the back of the rucksack meaning its really comfy to wear for the little ones.
All of their PaddlePaks have varying reflective strips around their sea creature themed designs meaning in the darker nights, they will easily be seen. As well as this there are multiple pockets both external and internal (internal are waterproof) meaning any electrics are safely protected from splashes.
The one thing I really like about these are the roll top close function which is easy for little ones to close themselves as well as the clip is an easy release clip meaning its just as easy to open too. On the large PaddlePaks, you’ll also find an external mess pocket which is perfect for holding drinks bottles and finally on all PaddlePaks is a cool sunglasses holder for those trips to the beach or to hold a pair of goggles too.
Both children really love their PaddlePaks and are more than happy to carry their own bags now they both look cool, if I’m honest, I’m a little bit jealous as I’d be partial to one myself if a little bigger.
Large Trunki PaddlePaks normally retail around £24.99 and the medium sized around £19.99 however if you check out the Trunki site now, I happen to know they have a few of them on sale so may be worth a look.
Until next time
NB: We were provided with a Trunki PaddlePak for each of the children in exchange for an honest review, all opinions remain my own.