Toddlers and swimming – when to use waterwings/rings?

What sort of age/development should you start putting water wings on your kid and letting them splash around without holding them? Wee boy is 15 months just now and I’m sure he’d enjoy it but obviously I’d not be able to let him out of arms reach.

My daughter is almost 2 and a half, we took her to the swimming pool for the first time a few weeks bak and used one of these swim vests she really enjoyed it so will be going again soon.

My son is 4 almost 5. Can almost swim a bit. We have never used arm bands or rings etc.

We started lessons at 18 months, for the first year at least the parent goes in with the kids and you keep them pretty close. They all use foam back floats with several foam floats. As the kid develops you remove floats. Boy should be swimming without floats at 4.5 and it will pass on to the next kid.

Zoggs is the company they use at the swim school.

Is there not a bit of a debate about whether to use them at all as they can potentially hold them back in their swimming? My wee one has just turned 2 and I still just take him in without, mainly because I hadn’t really thought about getting anything for him, not because I’m against them. He can’t swim on his own but he gets chucked about, jumps in, sometimes ends up going under when he’s going a bit mental, seems pretty happy without them.

I take the kids without floats for chucking around a jumping in, he’s only 3 and can struggle along without for a short distance.

The back floats are used to teach them to swim properly I think.

Just a heads up if you decide on the vesty float jacket, Tesco had the Zoggs version for £4 reduced from £18.

Got one for our 2 1/2 year old, but tbh, she’s not really used it much at all.
Asked her swim teacher about them (after just buying it when I saw it thinking “wow bargain”) and she prefers arm bands for them for them learning to swim. Said the vest is more restrictive, and they also float a bit higher/differently, weirdly making using the arms in the water a bit harder than armbands.

But It’s getting good use by our (huge) 12 month old ‘cos it seems to suit him better, keeps him upright, head above water, and floating – just what he needs at his stage. She now “swims” with armbands well enough that I’ve been able to take both together and concentrate on him every week this summer, (and she can do about 3-4 metres without now).

So, I guess I’m saying it’s more “horses for courses” than just one right answer about what to use. Whatever the kid likes best works best – first step to swimming is water confidence and enjoyment.

Is there not a bit of a debate about whether to use them at all as they can potentially hold them back in their swimming?

I think there is a (well respected) theory that babies can swim and if you take them from early enough (after first jabs but well before 6 months) before they “forget” then as long as you go regularly enough, they’ll never need the float aids. Sort of tried this from the start with our first, but life and baby 2 meant we missed swimming for a 6 month gap, and when we went back she needed the armbands for confidence. Still think it gave her a good start though.

glasgowdan – Member
What sort of age/development should you start putting water wings on your kid and letting them splash around without holding them? Wee boy is 15 months just now and I’m sure he’d enjoy it but obviously I’d not be able to let him out of arms reach.

POSTED 2 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Getting back to the question – meant in the nicest possible way – just get on with it really. Definitely not too young, and definitely not too old either.
IME, The biggest hurdle to their enjoyment, and therefore their keenness, when the’re little is getting cold, both in the water and getting changed. They feel it so much more than us.
August is a better time to start than September, which is better than October…
And don’t be scared to “overdress” them. A swimming costume and a little “surf vest”/ all-in-one over the top traps a bit of warm nearer the body a bit like a wetsuit idea. Makes a good difference to how long they can last before getting cold.

My daughter has never used any kind of fixed swimming aid. In her lessons, they use floats, foam woggles etc which are gradually withdrawn as they get more confident. She (at age 4) can now swim a width unaided.

Daughter went to first swimming lesson at 12 weeks
She got her 20 metre badge at 4 1/2 and at 5 now can easily swim 40 metres unaided (which is probably better than me!) she desperately wants to go for her 50m badge but isn’t allowed until she is old enough to move upto the next class
Can swim on front (a kind of doggy paddle and weak breast stroke combo) or really well on her back as well being confident under water and with her face in the water as all sorts of floating and treading water exercises and is now picking up front crawl, On holiday last week she was confidently jumping into the pool off my shoulders and even had a bit of a swim in the sea (but it was too salty she decided)
She loves water slides and tubes and has been down a few on her own (with one of us waiting at the bottom obviously) and as for the wave machine..
She learnt through a company called Puddleducks which most of all makes it fun, but she has never used any ‘aids’ only foam woggles etc (and occasionally a padded ‘surf vest’ that incorporates some buoyancy when we have been on holiday and the pools arn’t heated)

Wife has since given up her old job and become a Puddleducks kids swimming teacher which she absolutely loves

Don’t use rings or armbands, they will impede arm and body movement, get a few little floats and a foam woggle and let them splash around having fun, and introduce them to being under the water as early as possible as well but structured lessons whilst not cheap are definitely best
Obviously I would recommend Puddleducks but there are other national franchises such as Water Babies and of course your local council etc may offer lessons

Both my two just got thrown in – much to the wrath of my now ex.
Eldest was less than 3 months old and she just naturally swam and held her breath. We were still in Spai nat that point with a pool 10ft from the back door so it was rather necessary for her to swim.
Youngest was a little older mainly due to the aforementioned ex, being back here in the UK and the local pool being ridiculously risk averse to the point they wouldn’t even let you lift kids up in the air.
4 weeks back in Spain at the outlaws and she was swimming with big sis.

An alternative on this is that we used/use something called a SwimFin http://swimfin.co.uk/. Basically its a foam shark fin you strap to their back that acts like a float but doesn’t impede their arms or hold them out of the water too much:

It’s great for giving them confidence when they are learning or just want to splash about in the water with older siblings when they are still learning.

The idea of it is that the better they get, and the flatter in the water they get, the less its in the water so the less it is assisting them.

The best thing about it though is that they get to look like a shark, which as any kid will tell you is awesome! 🙂

We took ours to lessons at 4 months old and have progressed in stits and farts since then. Once she was big enough, we used Monkey Swimmers. Progressive, comfortable on little arms etc. They were great.

SammyC – that looks a brilliant idea! Both aesthetically and functionally.

Yeah, I think armbands are not the in thing these days. A lots of kids are properly swimming and enjoying it really young now – it’s great.

take food. after 45 mins in the pool my boy is starving.

Used the floaty vests for both of ours. You could leave them to bob about and get used to kicking about and changing direction on their own. Eldest was swimming at 4 3/4 and the youngest at 3 3/4. 2 weeks in the pool on holiday works wonders in getting them swimming on their own and underwater and all that stuff. Would highly recommend the vests though rather than arm bands.

I want one of those shark fins.