As long as I can remember my son has had a fascination with Mermaids and Mermen. From the first time we read him Hans Christian Andersons The Little Mermaid they have captured his imagination like nothing else.
I get it, the thought of visiting a secret magical underwater world, the thought of all the danger and magic and the beauty and freedom of the underwater kingdom? What child could possibly not love that.
From his very first swimming lesson he’s asked how he can swim like the merpeople and ever since he learnt to swim properly he’s tried his best to flipper his way through the water.
One summer he talked his grandmother into making him a merman tail out of an old quilt, it took her ages and when he first put it on we all fell about laughing. It was brilliant but in reality he wanted to see what it would be like swimming with it so off he went to the summer swimming pool, put it on, jumped in and promptly sank to the bottom.
We fished him out but he had never been happier.
So when I found out about the Fin Fun Mermaid tail I decided to try and get it for his birthday last week. We searched around the internet and finally found it here in Amman at Hamleys, the finest toy shop in the world.
The tail has a truly unique natural motion that looks like a real fin when swimming to create the illusion of an actual mermaid / merman! Made from high quality neoprene with an indestructible polypropylene insert, it is rigid enough to provide strong propulsion, but with flex to look like a real fin. And the carefully designed cuffs and foot pocket help hide feet and ankles. The buoyancy of the neoprene cover compensates for the weight of the monofin, making it feel light in the water and allowing you to swim longer with less effort.
Not only does the monofin create a realistic mermaid look, the patented design propels you through the water quickly and efficiently, allowing you to swim up to two times as fast with less exertion!
Safety is always of paramount concern, and my son and I went through the safety information on the website together, and I supervised closely as he tried it out in the pool. My son practised close to the side of the pool before swimming, and he also tested how to get out of the tail in the shallow end of the pool. To remove the tail at any time, you just pull one foot out of the fin (just lift up a leg), then the other leg, and then it’s a simple matter of pulling the tail down. It’s easy and comes off simply. There’s been no problems at all; however I do feel close supervision is important with pool play in general, we always watch Alexander when he is in the pool.
Alexander told me exactly how and where to take photo’s. He’s just so so happy with his Merman tail.
Available at Hamleys here.
