swim vests are bad, right?

august06mom · July 2010

DS (turns 4 next month) has never had formal swimming lessons, but he's very close to teaching himself. He can swim underwater from DH to me if we're standing about apart from each other. Obviously I stll watch him like a hawk and would never let him swim without me right next to him, but he's getting pretty close to learning how to really swim.

I've always avoided those flotation vests because I heard they can give kids a false sense of security. Is this true? He absolutely will not let me hold him and wants to swim alone, but he likes taking off for the deep end, so I've let him wear the vest a few times. Should I switch to arm floaties?

FWIW, he'll be taking formal swim lessons in the fall (I slacked and they're filled up until then) but we've been swimming a ton this summer. We're going to a pool tomorrow, and I'm thinking of leaving the swim vest behind and telling him he can't go past his shoulders. He usually likes to duck underwater and swim over to the deep end, though ... Sad

Temp108743750006959 · July 2010

eh, we do both puddlejumper and no puddlejumper.

on vacation, DS wants freedom and the pools are usually too deep so a puddle jumper is perfect.

at our community pool, no floaties are allowed at all, so he hangs out where he can stand or I carry him around.

and then he gets swim lessons sans floaties at camp.

luckyluvr · July 2010

I'd rather have my kid alive than prove whether or not they're ok to use. False security or not, he won't drown with one on.

meghans30 · July 2010

luckyluvr:
I'd rather have my kid alive than prove whether or not they're ok to use. False security or not, he won't drown with one on.

The boys started formal lessons in the spring and the instructor starts all kids with a bubble and arm bands. As they got more comfortable, she removes them. Trev swims with arm bands only and we try to teach him proper swim techniques. He also wants freedom. The 2.5 year old wears a swim vest and arm bands. He wants his independence and I don't want him to drown

penguingrrl · July 2010

We don't use them, although it's really tempting. My brother jumped in a pool at 2.5 thinking he could swim (my mom always used those things) and thankfully I saw him and we got him out quickly, but he was 5 or 6 before he would go near water again. Also, my sister's fiance was a lifeguard and swim instructor for years and told me not to, so I'm listening to him. He said the big issues are that kids get a false sense of security about how well they can swim then jump or fall in without the vest/swimmies and don't know what to do and that the products out there are usually not balanced well at all, so it's easy for the kid to flip upside down in them and be stuck with their head below water (which can create a lifelong fear of swimming even if the parent is right there to flip them back over). He has seen this happen a lot actually.

Angela814 · July 2010

We use a puddle jumper life jacket if we're around water. So if DD is playing by the lake, she has a life jacket on. By the pool she's not allowed to go in the water unless we're there with her. She's really cautious though and won't even let go of us while she's wearing the life jacket. Swimmies wouldn't hold her up enough, so I know she wouldn't like those.

lizard76 · July 2010

I don't use them. Our public pool doesn't allow the arm floaties, only the vests (that you don't blow up), and they provide the orange brick floatation devices. Ethan went to swim lessons last summer and this summer and our friend is his instructor and advised against them until he learned he could sink in the water if he didn't kick or stay close to the side. We do let him use an inflatable swim ring when we're at the private pool (where swim lessons are) on "off" days because he thinks it's fun and gives us a break, but we also know he can swim half the length of the pool and to kick if he goes under.

littlemermaid · July 2010

If you are going to use one please buy one that is U.S. Coast Guard approved. I rather have a child that will float if they fall in than one that is going to sink. Children can get a false sense of security even without a life jacket. I have always used life vests when my children were small. We clearly explained to them and also demonstrated how the jacket protected them.

melissabo · July 2010

littlemermaid:

If you are going to use one please buy one that is U.S. Coast Guard approved. I rather have a child that will float if they fall in than one that is going to sink. Children can get a false sense of security even without a life jacket. I have always used life vests when my children were small. We clearly explained to them and also demonstrated how the jacket protected them.

This. Coast Guard approved, not a toy.

meghans30 · July 2010

melissabo:
littlemermaid:

If you are going to use one please buy one that is U.S. Coast Guard approved. I rather have a child that will float if they fall in than one that is going to sink. Children can get a false sense of security even without a life jacket. I have always used life vests when my children were small. We clearly explained to them and also demonstrated how the jacket protected them.
This. Coast Guard approved, not a toy.

This is what we use.

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swim vests are bad, right?

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