Ok guys I have some questions, our pool is now open and ready to go.. My boys have had 3 sessions of swim class, so they are comfortable with the water, and have the "general concepts" of swimming (kicking and reaching and pulling) but we have always been holding them in swim class, this summer we would like to have them be able to swim by them self (with us close by) But threes so many choices out there now, when I was their age I just have the water wing swimmies.... anyone have any tips, experience or suggestions? I was going to get them swimmies, but my wife suggested like a suit you put on them that has like a life preserver thing built in... it just seems a little much to me(and if they flip over it looks like it would be hard to roll in them)... but idk. any tips or suggestions are appreciated Thanks
It seems like those suits would be hot. We bought water wings last year and the kids did great with them.
We have the Stearns Puddle Jumper and love them! I love that they hold the girls up well yet it's easy for them to move around and there's no jacket right under their chin. LOVE them!! We got ours at BJ's for less than $20.
We bought simple life jackets, they zip up and don't have a lot of bulky buckles. They have worn these type of jackets going on three years. I really like them. Personal preference of mine because the wings just don't look safe to me.
Not sure how old they are. We used the suits with floats built into the bodice when they were 3 and 4. Last year at five we used just arm floaties and doing that again this year. Neither has asked try without them yet.
My boys are about the same age as your and we use the swim suits with the built in floaties (made by Speedo, Target). They are not experienced swimmers and the suit does kind of crowd up around the face in deeper water, but I guess that is the point... keeping the head above water. They do not seem to be bothered by it. The suits do make it kind of hard to swim "normally" (belly down using arms and legs to kick) but I have used water wings in addition to the suits to make it easier (they have little weakling arms that get tired out fast). Maybe a bit of overkill, but we swim in a dark lake so that makes me REALLY nervous. Those Puddle Jumpers look pretty cool, but I would only use them if I was in a pool and within arms reach of both boys. I personally do not trust only water wings at this age. Happy swimming!!
Puddle Jumpers!!! They are actually Coast Guard approved. (I should say that Sterns lists it as : Type V US Coast Guard Approved Life Jacket with Type III performance.) Seriously it would be very difficult for them to have issues in them and they aren't hot. They also cannot get them off by themselves.
I've heard lots of good things about the puddle jumpers, especially in my twins club meetings. When my older kids were younger we just used life jackets, we found the ones with the V neck and the crotch strap. It still rode up but not as bad as the regular ones. I'm going to get the puddle jumpers next year for our twins, we aren't going to open our pool up this year.
