Swimming with two 2 year olds?

[Lstar311]

This year my two year old wore a puddle jumper. I found it in Walmart for $10 but One Step Ahead was also selling them. It is like swimmies but also goes around the chest and instead of being inflatable it is like foam/lifevest material. It is coast guard approved. It was tight enough that my son could not get out of it on his own but his arms would come out if he wasn't swimming in the water, mainly when he got out or was playing on the steps. I would never ever leave him by himself in the pool but we were able to swim all around w/out me holding him at all. He loved it!

 

[ppan77]

I taught swim lessons for years and am a mom of 2 kids. I highly recommend arm floaties vs vests. Arm floats allow the child to atleast swim with their face in the water and kicking from behind on their bellies. Vests teach kids to swim upright (feet down) which means they will sink to the bottom once its off. I think vests give a false positioning in the water and can hurt a child's success once they try to learn to swim. Just my opinion!!

 

[MSSANDRA]

This year my two year old wore a puddle jumper. I found it in Walmart for $10 but One Step Ahead was also selling them. It is like swimmies but also goes around the chest and instead of being inflatable it is like foam/lifevest material. It is coast guard approved. It was tight enough that my son could not get out of it on his own but his arms would come out if he wasn't swimming in the water, mainly when he got out or was playing on the steps. I would never ever leave him by himself in the pool but we were able to swim all around w/out me holding him at all. He loved it!

This is what we have for DGS. He too loves it and it gives them enough freedom to move around and really get the feel of swimming. They can however be hard to find.

 

[JAM3]

I HIGHLY recommend Stearns Puddle Jumpers They are lifeguard approved the same as a life jacket is. We tried everything before finally finding this product. We used it all summer. Everywhere we went people were asking us how long DD had taken swim lessons because she swam so well in it. Prior to this she would not even let go of me,with this she was using her arms and legs to move all around the pool! Of course I am always still right there, but it is a terrific teaching aid! After seeing DD use this quite a few of my friends bought them for their children as well and have been happy with it! Oh, I wanted to mention too, since they are coast guard approved you can use them anywhere you swim. Some pools do not allow any type of flotation device that is not coast guard approved. Usually this is just life jackets which are very hard to swim in. I purchase mine at Wal-Mart in the section with life jackets for a lower price ( I think $15-$20), but if that is not an option Amazon sells them!http://www.amazon.com/Stearns-Puddle-Jumpers-Green-Weight/dp/B0019BSYTI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1256865643&sr=1-1

 

[Mrs D]

We have used arm floats and floatation vests, but both gave dd rashes on her arms. She recently started swim lessons, and the instructor uses and recommends the Aquajogger Jr. belt because it gives them much more range of motion with her arms so she is learning the appropriate arm motions for swimming. Found it on Amazon for $19, although some places charge as much as $36!

Aquajogger Jr.

I currently teach parent/child and pre-school swim lessons at the YMCA. For children under 2 we use the puddle jumper float. Ages 2-3 we use the Aquajogger Jr. It provides good buoyancy while allowing the child the ability to paddle with the arms. My DD2 (28 mo.) uses the aquajogger and can swim without me holding her (of course I am right by her). We teach children under 3 to swim in an upright position then work on transitioning them to a horizontal position at 3. That's when they move to the Kiefer Swim ‘N Play Trainer.

HTH!

 

[Fall1]

OP here. We ended up just holding them. It worked out great and I really don't think they were ready for floaties this trip. Maybe next Summer!

Thanks everyone!

 

[crash2000]

we used/use a life jacket for our daughter starting at age 4ish, before that we just held her/watched her etc...

also my daughter learned more in 2 weeks in our backyard pool, then she learned in 6 months of swim lesson's. BUT I do plan on putting her in swimming lessons as she gets older to learn diving/laps etc...

also watch out for older siblings freinds as your kids age, my daughter was led into the water by a freind at the beach, as they got farther out, i called them both back in, and what does the 9yr old do, he comes running back in, leaving my 5 yr old out in the lake, daddy to the rescue...