what type of floaties do they need at 18 mo. and 3 yrs

i have no idea what type of floates or life vests they need at 18 mo and 3 years. my oldest will be three in june. can he use just arm floaties. my sister has an above ground pool so i figured we will be there alot, and this weekend we are going to sea world as a mini vacation and i figured we would try to go to the pool at our hotel. should the twins who are 18 months just be in those tube floaties.
thank you so much!

 

We had both tube type floats that they sat in and arm floaties for ours last year. They did fine in them. By the end of the summer, we were able to let them go with the floaties and they would swim all over the pool. I plan to just use the same thing this year at the pool and get them life jackets for the river. We'll probably also start trying to teach them to swim without them. An adult is always right there keeping a strict eye on them.

 

Depends... if you are at a lake, river, pond I would def. go with life jackets.... both sizes need to have a "crotch" strap and buckle and the 18 mnth old needs to have a head support on the back of the jacket also. My 4yo wore arm floaties and used a noodle in the pool last year...but has decided on her own this year that she wants to use a lifejacket... it gives her more arm freedom. My other two are now floatie free in a pool, still wear lifejackets at the lake... all day everyday pretty much.

 

I never used them. I was under the impression they would give them a false sense of security... it was a tough few years with toddlers not swimmng.

 

Last summer the twins were 18 months and ds was three. We did the floatie seats from walmart for like $3.xx and then ds wore a floating swim vest (speedo ones from target), but he also wanted to wear a swim ring.

 

My oldest has been using the arm things (without anything else) since age 2. I bought a floatie seat and the arm things for the twins. We'll be going to Turkey next week, they'll be a little over 17 months, my oldest will turn 4 soon.

 

The twins currently have these. And when Josh was 2.5 to 3, he was using the arm floaties. Whatever they use, it usually takes a few times of learning how to balance themselves in the water. Have fun!

 

life jackets with the crotch strap so they done float up too much. my boys did great last summer at 2.5 with them B)