Looking for the best pair of swim goggles for kids? From backyard splashing to competition, we break down the top goggles for kids to splash around in the pool in 2021.
Swimming is an awesome sport for kids to participate in.
More importantly, it’s also a critical life skill. Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death for children [1] in the United States, with kids averaging around 700 deaths a year from drowning.
Getting your kids in the pool is a great idea, not only for fitness, basic life preservation skills, but also because swimming can even make kids smarter. Triple whammy!
One of the most important pieces of swim equipment for beginners and especially children are a solid pair of swim goggles.
Should kids wear swimming goggles when they go to the pool?
Yes!
There are two very important reasons that kids should strap on a pair of swim goggles when they head to the pool.
The first reason is general safety.
The human eyeball isn’t designed to see very well in the water. The science behind this is simple—light refraction is significantly slower under the surface compared to the air.
Wearing goggles helps kids see their surroundings, whether it’s other swimmers in the pool or where the wall is when they are swimming laps. Swim goggles help you see better. Simple as that.
The second reason is kind of icky.
How many times have you gotten out of a chlorinated pool and found your eyes to be itchy and red?
Commonly swimmers will blame chlorine for agitating their eyes, but it’s worse than that. Swimmers have a bad habit of leaving things behind in the pool, including sweat, pee, and um, other bodily waste. When these foreign substances interact with chlorine they create a whole new compound called chloramines.
These bad boys are the culprits behind bad air quality in poorly ventilated pools and why your eyes get so aggravated. While you won’t be able to unread the grossness of this point, at least you will have extra motivation to get your kids to wear swim goggles.
What to look for when picking out a pair of swim goggles for kids:
Comfort. Most swim goggles are made with silicone gaskets and straps, which are comfortable at any age. For younger kids avoid goggles like Swedish goggles—they have a hard plastic gasket that will leave the orbital socket sore.
Adjustable. Kids grow fast, you don’t need me to tell you that. Having goggles that come with adjustable nose piece can grow with your kiddo.
How serious is the swimming? While all the goggles on this list are great for beginner swimmers, if your kiddo is taking up competitive swimming there are more “elite” swim goggles that are made for juniors. They are noted below.
Optical or no? If your child needs prescription swim goggles there are some options for them. As with adult swim goggles the selection is considerably smaller.
Anti-fog. Almost every goggle on the market is anti-fog, but that doesn’t mean they stay this way forever. The inside of goggles are coated with a delicate anti-fog spray during production. It inevitably wears off; quicker if your little swimmer wipes the inside of the goggle lens with their fingers.
Okay, with all that under your belt, let’s get it on with our list of the top swim goggles for kids!
Speedo Swim Goggles for Kids
Speedo is the most well-known manufacturer of swim gear. They’ve been around for the better part of 100 years and make all sorts of gear from Speedo racing suits to a full line of Speedo competition goggles.
Speedo’s line-up goggles for kids are comprehensive. Here are some of our favs for all levels of swimmer:
Speedo Skoogles Swim Goggles
Made for kids aged 4-6 years, these colorful goggles are a great intro goggle for children. They have an adjustable silicone strap, a soft frame and lens, come in a wide variety of bright colors (helpful for when they get lost) and the usual UV and anti-fog protection.
Best for: Beginners and Junior Sharks and Minnows champions
Speedo Junior Hydrospex Print Goggle
The Hydrospex come in a wide variety of funky prints, have a split silicone strap (silicone straps last basically forever, BTW), and feature UV protection with the usual anti-fog coating.
Best for: Beginner to very junior swimmers
Speedo Junior Vanquishers 2.0
The Speedo Vanquishers 2.0 are among the best swim goggles for competitive swimmers. Tons of casual and high-level swimmers rock out with them in the pool in both practice and competition.
The reasons are simple: The goggles are durable, stylish, comfortable and once you have them fitted to your face will never leak.
Speedo makes a Junior version of these goggles which are my top pick for best racing goggles for kids. They feature the same style and comfort but are sized to fit the face of kids.
The Vanquishers are our TOP pick for best competition goggles for kids.
Best for: Swimmers who aspire to get their Katie Ledecky on
Speedo Junior Vanquisher Optical Swim Goggle
Speedo also makes the Junior Vanquishers for swimmers who need a prescription for their goggles.
Best for: Wearing glasses in the pool.
TYR Swim Goggles for Kids
Huntington, California-based TYR is another big player in the swimming industry, with high profile swimmers Ryan Lochte, Katie Ledecky and Cody Miller in their stable of athletes who use their gear. Their line up goggles for kids is decidedly bright and fun!
Here are three of our favs:
TYR Character HappyFish Goggles
Swimmers have unofficially co-opted Doris’ “Just keep swimming” line from the blockbuster movie Finding Nemo.
These goggles subtly play on the popularity of the movies with some fish art plastered around the goggle lens. My only complaint is that they have the old-school nose bridge that is adjustable but liable to break over time.
Are the goggles super practical? Maybe not. But fun? You betcha.
Best for: Splashing around in the backyard pool
TYR Kids SwimShades Mirrored Goggles
If style is the number one requirement for your goggles, this set has it in spades. Are they sunglasses? Swim goggles? A little bit of both, actually.
Best for: Hiding from the paparazzi in the shallow end
Aqua Sphere
Wanna wear the same goggles that Michael Phelps used in competition? Well, you might not be able to do that, but Aqua Sphere is the same company that produces his line of competitive swim equipment.
Aqua Sphere Seal Kid Goggles
The big benefit of these goggles is the massive field of vision. Young swimmers will have an excellent peripheral vision as well as an expanded downwards field of view.
The goggle seal is huge and sits on the cheek which helps to reduce the “raccoon eyes” that come from wearing goggles for extended periods of time.
Best for: Aqua-sploring
Aqua Sphere Kayenne Junior
The Kayenne is an absurdly popular swim goggle for open water swimmers and triathletes. They have a curved lens which gives you an insane amount of peripheral vision, they are super comfortable and have dual silicone straps that are a cinch to adjust.
Oh, and they make a junior model!
They come with all the usual goodies: UV protection, anti-fog, and exceptional clarity and come in six different colors and lens tints.
Best for: Seeing what the swimmer in the lane next to you is doing without looking straight at them
More Swim Goggle Guides:
7 Best Goggles for Swimmers. Confused about what kind of swim goggles to get? Here’s a breakdown on the best swimming goggles for every kind of swimming.
7 Best Swim Caps for Toddlers and Children. Swim caps protect your toddler or child’s hair from harsh pool chemicals, helps them stay safe in the pool, and keeps their hair out of the pool. Here are our top picks for best swimming caps for toddlers and children.
