Swimsuit/Floatation Advise Needed!!!

We go to the lake all of the time. My dad lives in Branson, MO on Tablerock lake, and we love it! We always put on a life jacket with the head pad. At first neither of my boys liked it, but we insisted that they wear it. Last summer my three year old started wearing it with out a fight. In fact he never wanted to take it off, He absolutely loves it! Every child is different though and I know some of my friends have used the swimsuit with the foam in it with much success.

Hello,
I personally have used the swimsuits with the floats with them and love them, my children also liked them better than life vests. We do hold on to our children with them,or at least stay very close, but they have freedom of movement and they don't slide around like life vests do. Plus they can't slip off. Also if you do not hold onto them the swim suits don't let them submerge, however they will not flip them to their backs like life vests. I will not use swim wings.
Hope this helps,
Michelle

water wings are a waste of time...dont even bother...they are not even close to being safe. Get a lifejacket that is US Coast Guard approved for your childs height and weight. That is the safest flotation device for your daughter and is second only to never ever taking your eyes and hands off her around water. If she loves the water she will have to accept wearing the lifejacket. I had the same issues with my older son when he was little. ( He is 15 yrs now). Best of Luck and Happy swimming.

My daughter used a floatie that's an inflatable ring covered in fabric with a tanktop attached. The ring goes around her middle. She's able to kick herself around the pool and feel very confident. I bought it at Toys R Us and it's in it's 3rd season of use.

We really loved the swimsuit with built in floatation for our daughter who was afraid of the water. However at the lake both of our kids still wear their life jackets. We got the kind that are like a ski jacket but with the strap between the legs so they don't slide down through it. The floaty swimsuit isn't a legal or viable option when in a boat or on a jet ski. Our son was a water baby and for swimming classes, the babies weren't supposed to use anything for floation.

Also an option for the pool is the floats that look like a small innertube that have a built in seat. You can even get them with an umbrella in case your little one is prone to sunburn. Our daughter loved hers.

We used the swimsuits that have the foam inside of them. We have boys, so they looked like they were wearing swimsuits, rather than swimtrunks, but they were great and loved putting them on. We did not get the ones that blow up, they were foam and stayed "blown up" at all times. We used those when we were on the boat, but when we're in the pool, we dont use any flotation device since Dh and I have ahold of them at all times!! best of luck!

We use the swimsuit with floatie inside too. It's great because it gives some added piece of mind but I will say that I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my daughter (20 months) w/o being very close to her or even with my hands on her. Just because it can be hard to upright if she tipped over in the water. My son is almost 3 and I think he'd do fine without me hanging on to him because he's a bit stronger and bigger.

We also used the inner tube floatie that had the built-in seat when our kids were around 1 year old and it was great! They couldn't fall through because they were sitting in it and of course it's pretty darn hard to completely flip over, plus you'll be close by since your daughter is only 14 mo. anyway.
Hope this helps! :)

We have a pool in our backyard and I also did growing up. We all used the arm wings. My kids do too. If your daughter doesn't like the life vest chances are that she won't like the swim suit with the floatation devices in them. My kids hated them. The wings keep their face out of the water, too. I have also seen at swim lessons that they have a belt type thing that goes between their legs that holds them up with different attachments to put on or take off according to their swimming abiltity. Also less consticting then the suit or a life vest. At one years old telling her wear this or you can't go in the water probably isn't going to do much except keep you out of the water and have a child who is hot and throwing a temper tantrum. Take it from a mom of 5 ages 2-15 yrs. old. All who are extremely well behaved. You have to pick your battles.

K. S

We found the swimsuit to be better than the life jacket due to more mobility. We practically live at the lake in the summer and the girls like being able to move about with out the jacket riding up around their necks. But of course you still need to hold on to them due to easy tip over, eventually they get control and know to turn over.

A suggestion I have is what I used for my daughter's. Target has a blue swim ring that's two seperate ringsa and mesh connects them. This allowed them to float while the mesh allowed them to play with the water. It costs I believe 14.99 but they loved it. With my oldest we had one of those huge blow up yellow ones and she hated it cause she couldn't reach the water. But I got it for my next two and they loved being able to be in the water and play.