Oh to be young, free and a keen swimming bean! Teaching your kids to swim at an early age will help them gain an invaluable sense of confidence throughout their life where water is concerned, and a suitable swimming cap is an essential part of their kit that kids should adorn from their very first day at the pool.
Iconic swimwear brands including Speedo, Zoggs and Arena have been producing high quality silicone and polyester caps for kids for many years, but how do you know which is best? Whether you're searching for the right swimming cap for babies, toddlers or older kids, we've ranked the 10 best kids swimming caps in the UK on Amazon and eBay. With options for long hair, and plenty of fun and funky themes, let's dive right in!
Quick List - Top Swimming Caps for Kids
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In this simple buying guide, we will swim you through the defining features of kids swimming caps. Looking into the different types, materials and colours, as well as how to find the right size for your child's age, we're here to clear the confusion about which swimming cap is right for your child!
Swimming caps for kids are clearly defined by material first and foremost. By understanding the reasons why your child may suit a silicone vs. a polyester cap will make sure there's no hidden surprises or poolside temper tantrums.
Silicone caps have a few defining features that make them the most popular style of kids swimming cap. They are the most likely type of cap to keep the damaging effects of chlorine at bay, while also keeping your kids hair as dry as possible.
Through their streamlined outline, they offer dedicated swimmers the least drag and, therefore, the most efficiency per stroke. They also provide a certain level of durability that ensures longevity, even in the rough and ready hands of children.
Their main drawback is they are inherently tight fitting, which some children may find irritating at first. They also have the potential of pulling and catching hair, which makes them more suited to children on the other side of their terrorising toddler years.
Polyester swimming caps are the kind will give any kid a warm and comforting pat on the head. They're seen as a great way of keeping kids' hair out of their face, offering an unrivalled amount of comfort when helping kids of all ages to learn their swimming strokes.
However, this is also their primary downside as they allow water to freely wet every strand of hair they adorn. This lowers their chlorine protection to almost nothing, while also ensuring your kids hair is soaked through at the end of each session.
A clever way around this is to actually buy two caps for for your kids, giving them the comfort of a polyester cap, with a suitably sized silicone cap over the top. This creates that sought after defence against both chlorine and water. As a tip, be on the lookout for blended neoprene and polyester caps for a little added warmth when swimming in the sea!
While not every kids' swimming cap will come with information on sizing, for the most part, each cap will have a recommended age at the very least. Swimming caps for kids start from early as 0 - 18 months, with some adorable themes and designs to fit round your baby's noggin.
From 18 months, most kids' caps will have fairly indistinct guides on age that read either younger than 10, or up to 14 years, instructing a flexible all-in-one fit for most kids. You'll find a very few brands hone in closer on age, with more specific age recommendations in the 5 - 10 years and 10 - 12 years range.
Leading on from recommended age is another aspect of kids' swimming caps which is very much brand specific. Sizing is a sometimes mysterious affair in the swimming arena, with most brands offering a one-size-fits-all approach. Although, some will provide S, M, L options, and you may even find some exact measurements!
Luckily, due to the flexible and stretchy nature of swimming caps, they tend to fit onto many differently sized heads, while still maintaining a tight enough seal to protect. If your child has already had a growth spurt worth documenting, then maybe they'll be ready to break into the adult swimming cap sizes instead.
Long hair caps offer children with thick hair the chance to keep it relatively dry and out of chlorine's damaging ways. Typically a feature of silicone styled caps, long hair caps come ready to protect with an extra-baggy top half for any child with heavenly locks.
This bagginess is pulled in toward the forehead area, ensuring a snug and tight fit for kids of all ages. These caps are just as durable, and often come in a few different sizes and colours, making them a clever style of cap for one and all!
We all know the trials of getting your kids to wear anything, let alone a swimming cap. By creating caps of all colours, swimwear brands have given you a good and fighting chance of actually getting your children to enjoying wearing their swimming cap when in the pool.
There are plenty of popular colourways to choose from, whether that's black, blue, pink, red or yellow, with many shades of each. Some colour-hungry brands even offer blended multi-colour caps for an unforgettably colourful swimming experience.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Speedo Silicone Swimming Cap | ![]() | Caps Passing The Competition for the Win | |
2 | Zoggs Silicone Swimming Cap | ![]() | Their Favourite Heroes Are Here to Protect | |
3 | Soul Cap Long Hair Swimming Cap | ![]() | Inclusion for All Young Swimmers in the Pool | |
4 | Arena Unisex Swimming Cap | ![]() | Polyester Neoprene Cap for Warmth and Comfort | |
5 | Arteesol Silicone Swimming Cap | ![]() | Sleek Silicone Cap for Kids Aged 5 - 12 Years | |
6 | Lahtak Long Hair Swimming Cap | ![]() | Give Your Child With the Wild Hair a Comfortable Cap to Match | |
7 | Splash About Polyester Swimming Cap | ![]() | Streams of Themed Caps for Both Babies and Kids | |
8 | Gogokids Polyester Swimming Cap | ![]() | Comforting Cap With Dolphin Theme | |
9 | Aegend Swimming Caps|Pack of 2 | ![]() | Inexpensive 2 Pack Of Silicone Caps With Blended Colours | |
10 | Traling Silicone Swimming Cap | ![]() | Silicone Cap With Fins for a Truly Fishy Feeling |
Speedo are the swimwear brand that all others answer too. By producing market-leading swimwear for over 90 years, they've cemented themselves at the very top of the pecking order. This is their swimming cap for kids aged 6 - 14 that's been ergonomically moulded for an astonishingly slim fit, giving your child an unbridled amount of glide.
The flexible, high-end silicone also provides a reassuring level of durability that has to be felt to be believed. Choose from five enticing colours for a personalised touch to this iconic swimming cap for kids.
With classic super hero themed caps to the hair saving rescue, your kids will be counting down the days until their next swimming session. As well as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, kids can also choose from two Nemo themed caps and a shark for a range to remember.
Recommended for kids up to 14 years old, these caps by the iconic Australian brand Zoggs are poised to please. The non-toxic silicone construction will give your children a good level of chlorine and water protection, while feeling like a swimming superhero.
Soul Cap are a London-based swimwear brand making inclusion in the pool their mission statement. Through creating top-shelf swimming caps for the most voluminous hair types, they're paving the way to give everyone a chance to swim without mediocre products or harsh chemicals.
This is their silicone junior cap that comes in either medium or large. Both offer extra space on the top of the cap, while retaining a snug fit across the flexible headband area. Choose from four bold colours for a long hair cap like no other!
Arena's unisex kids' swimming cap come in both pink and black. Constructed of neoprene and polyester, this cap is one-size-fits-all to cater to children of all ages.
Although it is water-permeable, the cap benefits from being quick drying, making it a good option to bring on holidays where water will be in an abundance. The neoprene will also help take the edge off the summer sea waters around the UK, because let's face it, it's still pretty cold in the summer.
Arteesol's 100% non-toxic, high-quality silicone swimming caps are purposefully designed for both boys and girls aged 5 - 12 years. With two multi-coloured delights to choose from, every kid should find something special to wear with these caps.
It's a great cap for your kid to benefit from while swim training or even in competition, with a tight-fitting and flexible construction that'll give maximum glide through the pool. The anti-slip inner is another nod to the well-made nature of these caps, helping the cap to stay put, exactly as it should.
Lahtak have created a range of long hair caps in five striking colours, giving every child something desirably unique to wear. They come in sizes XS, S and M, with a guide to specific measurements included within the product photos.
This ensures a certain level of confidence where sizing is concerned, by allowing you to cross-correlate your child's head size against the cap. The baggy fit is notably pulled in across the headband allowing these non-toxic silicone caps a tight yet flexible fit.
Let young babies and kids splash about in the paddling pool with one of thirteen animal themed caps courtesy of Splash About. These caps are constructed predominantly of nylon, which is a synthetic fabric that offers a similar comfort level as polyester.
With a little neoprene included in the construction of this cap, it should offer a bit more warmth than other similar designs for the most delicate of heads. Choose from either 0 - 18 months, or 18 + months for the kind of cap your kid may not want to take off!
Choose from the two sizes to fit kids from 4 to 15 years of age for an unbelievably comfortable cap that, no doubt, looks pretty cool too! The masked dolphin theme runs throughout the entire six colour range, which by all reports is a knockout with the kids.
The 100% polyester construction means this cap is more for keeping hair out of kids eyes and giving them some extra warmth when in the pool, rather than one to keep the water out and the chlorine at bay.
Aegend have brought the cap wearing game down to pool level with this priced-to-sell 2 pack, instilling the kind of double-look deal that's worth snapping up. With two sizes to choose from, you should have no worries about your child fitting one of these caps.
The choice doesn't stop there, as there are also six multi-coloured blends to pick from, and even a dog themed cap for the animal lovers! Obviously at such a low price, they will unlikely be the same quality as the premium caps, but by all accounts they do their job well.
These silicone caps by Traling are unique in that they actually have little fish fins protruding from their aquatic design. These make for an unbelievably themed experience. However, unlike real fish fins, ultimately, they will hinder your child's glide.
This makes them more suited too casual days at the pool, instead of any swim training sessions. Even still, letting your child choose from one of the five distinct fish designs from Nemo to a shark will ensure a fun wearing time for all!
There's something wonderful about the good times kids seem to have at the pool. Keeping them enchanted through the magic of water, they can play with friends and learn to swim at one fun-filled time. That's why we've ranked a few more swim products to keep your kids safe the next time they're poolside!
It's never too early to learn the importance of adorning one's head with a protective swimming cap. To find such a cap for every kid on the trajectory towards learning to swim is what this article has aimed too achieve. Whether training, taking part in competition or paddling, the most important thing is that they're enjoying themselves while doing it!
Author: Connor Macanally
No. 1: Speedo|Silicone Swimming Cap
No. 2: Zoggs|Silicone Swimming Cap
No. 3: Soul Cap|Long Hair Swimming Cap
No. 4: Arena|Unisex Swimming Cap
No. 5: Arteesol|Silicone Swimming Cap
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