Please recommend your swim floaties, life vests, etc...

I'm taking the girls to the beach for a couple days in August and I am a little concerned that they have absolutely no fear of water. Whenever they see water, whether it be a pool, lake or ocean they run straight to it. They have not had swim lessons yet and there aren't any coming up before we go. The only way I'm going to be able relax a little at the beach is if they have some kind of flotation device strapped to them at all times. I've looked at arm floaties, and I've found some that say for ages 2 and up but my little 21lbs Dani might still be too small. I might consider these...
http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/2232.htm

Is there another product you could recommend?

TIA
Jennifer

 

Have you considered the bathing suits with the float device inside? We used one last year for my youngest because of her lack of fear around any water. It held her head above water.
My girls all swim, but at the beach we have used life vest because of the waves and tidal pull.

 

I'd try the bathing suits with the flotation right inside the suit.

I love these but they are for 30+ pounders. They work so great!

http://www.amazon.com/STEARNS-PUDDLE-JUMPER-3864-RED/dp/B0017Q4PI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1247360157&sr=8-1

 

We love the puddle jumpers. I'd have to check the minimum weight on them though. I know Target had a ton of infant and smaller life jacket/vest items.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/187-4286039-7331546?asin=B0019BSYXE&afid=yahoossplp&lnm=B0019BSYXE|Stearns_Puddle_Jumper&ref=tgt_adv_XSMG1060

 

We got these:

Speedo Swim Vest

But, we've used them a couple times, and they're not great at keeping faces out of the water. They do float, of course, but I'm not thrilled with them.

We're going to the beach in a couple weeks, too, and my two have only been in water a couple times. I'm going to look for the puddle jumpers that PP's recommended!

 

We just got puddle jumpers and I love them but my kids are 25 and 27 lbs and I don't think they would fit well on smaller kids than that. They are rated 30-50 lbs.

 

We use the bathing suits with the swim floats inside and they work great. They come in a variety of sizes and allow a lot more freedom of movement than the puddle jumpers do. I am not a big fan of arm floaties, they just don't seem like enough protection to me. There is one thing to watch out for on the floating suits...they will also allow your child to float FACE DOWN. The only thing that I know of that will prevent face down floating is an actual life jacket that has the collar on the back to support the neck and promote upright floating.

 

Before you spend money on a life vest for the beach, I would make sure that they can wear it in the water. I know according to the lifeguard at a New York State beach, no floates are allowed. It was very funny watching a father trying to get the lifeguard to explain why not.