Floatation device for toddlers

[travelplanner70]

I wondered what the current thinking is about floaties for toddlers. When my children were young (25 years ago), the arm floaties were discouraged since it is hard to swim with them. A styrofoam block fastened around the waist was recommended since it did not impede the arm motion.

Any thoughts? (I am looking into it for my grandchildren.)

 

[skulipeg]

I'm assuming you're just talking about for when a parent is within reach?

If so, we love the flotation device we have for our 3-year old - she loves to swim with it on, and it provides plenty of freedom and mobility. It has a styrofoam block on the chest and back, connected by straps. Each block is in multiple pieces, so as they learn to swim better you can remove some of the flotation.

This is the one we have:

http://www.amazon.com/Foam-Swim-Tra...toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1338858334&sr=1-18

But there are lots of similar ones out there. I think we paid about $10 for ours.

 

[DebBrown]

My granddaughter had the best flotation device EVER. It was a vest type device with a heavy duty innertube attached. You need to use a bicycle pump to inflate it and it stayed inflated for years. It was sold by Swim Ways. She is 13 now so I'm not sure if these are still available.

From the picture below, you can see she is sitting in a big tube which you can ignore. It is the small tube around her belly with the green vest attached which is the actual flotation device.

ETA - found links!

http://www.poolcenter.com/pooltoys_infant_toddler.htm
http://www.swimways.com/swim-sweater-p-20.aspx

Deb

 

[stmartinfan]

I started to respond to this, and then realized my experience is almost as long ago as yours!

But it sounds from a previous post as if the system our daughters used - the foam blocks which belted around their waists is still in use. When they were very young, like under 2, we used the small "inner tube" seat device, then the inflatable water wings. But both of those were really only for the stage when they are just floating in the water.

As soon as they started swimming lessons at the Y - early preschool age - and were really putting their heads underwater, they switched to the foam belts. Ours had 2 pieces, so you could eliminate the stomach one when they got more confident.

More recently, I've seen kids using a swimming suit type device that has pockets around the waist to insert foam pieces like this. The idea is that you can gradually eliminate some of them, as they swim better. These looked like they were more expensive, and you'd have to worry more about fit than just using the belt type foam pads.

 

[geekette]

I'm against floatation devices because they create a false sense of safety and prevent the child from understanding how to float on their own, tread water, and most importantly, go under without panic. I am biased, having been a competitive swimmer from age 4, a lifeguard, and having taught swim lessons to some terribly scared children.

Even infants have natural abilities in water that go untapped if props are introduced, and the infants don't know fear, they just adapt to the water as humans have the ability to do. First time I saw that was in the 70s, it was the first child of an Olympic swimmer getting her kid in the pool with nothing. and he was doing great, figuring out how to move his arms and legs to get himself to Mom (Sharon Wichman Jones, Mexico City, 1968, Bronze for Breaststroke)

Better to teach them to swim and not need floatation devices. Children that tell someone they can swim when all they can really do is be supported by swimmies or styrofoam could be in trouble down the road.

just my opinion, having seen many dozens of infants in the water with no problems, and having seen and had to teach young-uns brought up the security blanket method. taking away the swimmies or whatnot can really bring on the panic and that is very difficult to remove.

It is, after all, the parents with the fear to start with, and then it passes to the kid in the form of Stuff They Can't Swim Without, says mom and dad.

 

[stmartinfan]

I agree that it's important for kids to really learn to swim, and mine could swim well before they reached school age. We often vacationed at beaches and places with pools, so swimming lessons were an early priority.

But I'd make a case that some of those extra "buoyancy" floats helped make it easier for them to become good swimmers early. My kids were thin/muscular, and so they didn't float well. Getting a little help to stay up in the water gave them the ability to learn strokes, kicking, etc. without sinking right to the bottom. Once they had the strokes and strength, it was easy to quickly reduce & eliminate the foam floats and set them off on their own. Given the Y's success at teaching tons of kids to swim, I figured their system probably had some experience behind it.

My husband had a similar body type as a kid, and always remembered the struggle to learn because he had to work twce as hard as others just to keep his head above water. He often mentions how much more fun it is to swim when you aren't sinking to the bottom, now that he's no longer skinny. (On the otherhand, I've always been a good floater thanks to a little extra body fat)

 

[geekette]

Y's generally follow American Red Cross curriculum. I'm not a fan of it but have taught it plenty and it is good enuf for basic mechanics.

Agree, I had not thought about the lack of buoyancy that some struggle with. Thank you for reminding me that one size never fits all... skinny with no body fat DOES exist, just not on my frame ...