Yesterday, while my six year old daughter and I were alone in the pool, we played a silly little game.  She would start on one side of the pool, swim under water until she reached me (about half way across the pool).  Then, I would grab her out of the water, pull her up into the air, and toss her onto a floating mattress/pool toy, then push her sailing back to her starting point.  Each time I grabbed her she would let out a playful giggle and say:  "One more time, daddy!"   After about ten one more times, I became exhausted and we played a new game.

My children love swimming in the pool on hot summer days.   They never seem to grow tired of it.  One of the things that make the pool a lot of fun are all of the bright colored inflatable toys we put in the pool for them to play with.  We have floating air mattresses, tube shaped rings, balls, and floating whales!   Each child will start with one toy, play with it for a while, then switch to a new floating toy.  It is fun to watch them collect a bunch of floating toys and make a fort on the water, or try to climb on a bunch of floating toys.

Most of these toys I pick up in a local dollar store, Walmart, or toy store.  They are not at all expensive and usually cost only a dollar or two.  I teach them to take good care of the toys by putting them away so that they do not pop or blow away.  The whale is one of their favorites.  They grab onto it and kick their feet while floating.  They pretend it is a shark and they are attacking the tube forts! 

The whale is nothing more than a vinyl blow-up toy.  It measures about 18" X 12" when inflated.  I inflate the toys with my air compressor.  The toy has a type air inlet that does not allow air to easily escape after you start blowing it up, which helps keep the toys inflated.  I bought the whales (we have three of them) a couple of years ago as one of the party favors for my son's birthday party.  As I recall, there were other fish available as well, including a dolphin, shark and swordfish.  But my children love the whale the most.

Although the toys are cute and fun to play with, there are some drawbacks.  First, the vinyl on this toy is black and gets very hot when left in the sun.  When the children squeeze the fish by the tail, it tends to let the air out.  If the toy gets a small hole in it, it is often not worth it to try to fix it.  The patches that come with the toy do not work well and air will escape.  I just toss the toy in the trash and get a new one (this includes all of these inflatable toys).

Overall, my children love this toy so so do I.  For a buck, you can't beat it.  You can also buy the toy directly from US Toys website, which includes free shipping when bought in bulk.   Thanks for reading my review and best wishes for a nice summer!

Mike

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1.00
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years