Life Jacket - Puddle Jumpers???

dbarile

I need to get my 18 month old daughter a life jacket to wear when we go camping next to the lake in 2 weeks.  She weighs 24 pds and when I'm out and about shopping I haven't found anything for children under 35 pds.  I did come across a puddle jumper at Safeway and thought it didn?t look very safe but after reading a bunch of reviews online people swear by it because it keeps them upright, doesn?t come up around their neck in water, and is Coast Guard approved.  I?m actually pretty surprised because it looks like they can slip out of it easily. 

 

Recommendations on puddle jumpers or any other life vest is needed!

kar42509

My daughter is 18 month and we have a puddle jumper vest we got at Target - she LOVES it.  My sister in laws saw it at a pool party last week and went out and bought them for their kids.  I def. recommend this product!

babyrichsmama

Regular life jackets are horrible at this age, they totally come up around their neck and make swimming a miserable experience. Once we got DD a puddle jumper she's like a new child in the pool and loves to "swim" where she can't touch (of course with us right there). It's made her be really independent and confident about swimming....her swim lesson teacher was amazed at how much better she did with it. Plus the fact that if they do flip over it puts them onto their back....we used another life jacket first and it totally flipped DD face first into the water and was super scary. We LOVE puddle jumpers!

Amy&Andy

My LO does better in the puddle jumper than he does in a life jacket. In the life jacket he falls forward or backwards, but doesn't do so in the puddle jumper. He just kind of floats around...if anything sometimes his mouth will go under a little bit if a wave comes or something.... I will say that it did take him swimming with it a few times to get the hang of it though. They have to learn how to turn their bodies against the force of it pulling on them. But now he really knows how to handle it. He's 27lbs, and it's actually kind of snug on him IMO. The back strap is adjustable, and it's actually a little hard to get his arms in! I always think there is no way he's going to fit in it next summer even though they say it's for older kids!

turtlerun

Puddle jumpers are fantastic!  Just be warned that they can slip off of the arms of kids under the weight limit so I would be cautious.  It also does not qualify for a life vest on a boat if the child is underweight and your are for some reason stopped and checked.  Other than that I totally recomment it!  I do also have a life jacket for my son for the boat and or deep water (that I can't touch) made by Kidder.  It holds smaller kids.  I bought it last year at BJ's.  Have fun!

RJHarmon

We LOVE this.  DD can be indepentent from me in the pool and has so much fun (of course I am right there with her, she just doesn't feel like she needs to hold on to me)

jnolts

I got by DD a life jacket made by "full throtle" for infants under 30lbs. It's not great for swimming, restricts movement because of being around their necks so much. I got it at Scheels.

I wouldn't use anything else in the boat for her, but a puddle jumper is probably better for swimming.

BarbieAP

Puddle jumpers rock!  We got DS one a couple weeks ago.  He's only used it 3x so far but it's amazing.  Before, he had one of those full body suits but it was such a pain in the arse to get on and off.  We love love love the puddle jumper.  I got one real cheap on amazon.  It shipped super fast too!

acruffalo

I recently bought one of those thinner life jackets that snap onto a swimsuit bottom from Walmart. (I think OP makes them)  I was a little weary about it at first because I tried a normal life jacket and that didn't go over so well.  DD loves this though!!  She was jumping into the pool and "swimming" all by herself.  I would definitely recommend it.

DuckLover

We just got a membership at the YMCA and at first we didn't have anything for him bc we wanted to see how he did. He loved the water so we put a life vest on him and he screamed. It rode up to under his neck and he couldn't move. We got him a puddle jumper from amazon and he loves it! I highly reccomend them. he loves that he can go in the big pool which hes always staring at from the baby pool and that he doesn't have to hold on to us. Obivously one of us is right there by him still.

sbjacobs

I just got a puddle jumper for DD and LOVE it! She was totally confident, comfortable, and safe while "swimming"! If she starts to roll it flips to her back. I don't know about boating, but for swimming it's perfect!

Angela814

turtlerun:

Puddle jumpers are fantastic!  Just be warned that they can slip off of the arms of kids under the weight limit so I would be cautious.  It also does not qualify for a life vest on a boat if the child is underweight and your are for some reason stopped and checked.  Other than that I totally recomment it!  I do also have a life jacket for my son for the boat and or deep water (that I can't touch) made by Kidder.  It holds smaller kids.  I bought it last year at BJ's.  Have fun!

If the child is within the weight limit, then it is still a coast guard approved life jacket, which means it can be used on a boat. (It cannot be used on a jet ski, in case you were wondering.)

We got ours for the first time when DD1 was 3 years, so she was well within the weight limit. We tried one on my friends DS who is 18 months, and the arms kept slipping out, even when we tightened it as much as possible. I do think they're better for children who are closer to the 30 lb minimum stated.

mamaSJ

I recommend Stearns Puddle Jumper. My nephew was really like it. She really felt comfortable. It was perfect gift for our summer vacation. I think it is suitable 18 month old your daughter.