Well I think if you want to be really safe the you need to get one of those little life jacket things, they do them in Mothercare for about £27.

My duaghter is 2 and I will be using arm bands though, she doesn't swim on her own so I wont be letting her go, it's just so that she can paddle around with me in the pool or the sea. It does say on the packets that they are not life saving devices but I think if you are going to be with your child all the time in the water they are ok.

granddaughter now 2ys 5 mths has been in water since she was 3 mths old only with arm bands but she had been to water confidence classes as well since that age, [they recommended arm bands] her problem now is her height, she wont go in the children's pool if she can stand up and will only use adult pools..

Brian

All five of my children and my grandson learnt to swim using armbands, they are great for encouraging water confidence and much less restrictive and safer IMO than an inflatable ring which in certain circumstances can allow a child to turn up side down in the water.

People do need to be aware that there is a big difference between Lifejackets and Buoyancy aids. The former is designed to turn you over onto your back whilst a buoyancy aid does exactly what it says. It assists you in floating. It is essential to get the correct size. There is no such thing as growing into it. If it is too large then you fall through it and are worse off than if you did not have it. As a qualified canoeing instructor I am well versed in the problems with them. Lecture over.

Suggestion; Is it possible to get some swimming lessons at your local sports centre before you go? They do them even for toddlers and it gives them water confidence which is the important thing.

fwh

I absolutely agree with you fwh, that is why although my girls will have armbands they are never in the pool alone, we are always there with them.

Thanks for the advice, I think a trip to the local swimming pool before we go is a good idea.

Hi. I personally wouldn't recommend the 'jacket' buoyancy aid sold in places like Mothercare and ELC. They have to be a perfect fit to work properly and the one I had for my daughter was too big as she's slim, so when we used it, it slipped too far up her body and was useless. When we first took her swimming we got her one of the rubber rings with a seat incorperated in it which was good as she could sit in it safely and just float around. Last year when she was 3 on holiday we started her off with standard rubber ring plus arm bands and within a day she was confident enough to just use the armbands (never out of my reach though). There are other things you can buy instead of the inflatable bands which are like a moulded solid band that go on the arms but both my children have been happier with just normal old fashioned arm bands.

http://www.swimstop.co.uk/bobble_backfloat.html

Take a look at this- my kids used them in swimming lessons as well as floats on the arms to begin with. It helps them maintain the correct position in the water and as they become more buoyant you just remove the layers until they don't need it at all. It just goes on with a band around the body. My kids now swim like fish!!

Pam

Just had a look at the other products on this site- all Speedo and Zoggs so good stuff and some of the bodysuits/jackets look good for little ones. They are designed specifically to aid buoyancy while learning to swim so should be much safer than inflatable products.

Thanks again, there's a good few products on that site to consider