How do you keep your tot afloat? There are lots of choices. None of them are a replacement for your very close supervision, obviously. But each option is meant for a specific use and has its pros and cons. Here are the most popular lifejackets for kids, not including the noodle, which is really more of a weapon.
The Life Jacket: This is the old standby, great for boating. Be sure to get one that has a handle on the back so in case our little sailor goes overboard you can easily grab him and pull him back on deck. The strap between the legs is always what drives my girl crazy, but without it the kid could sink right out of the jacket, completely defeating the purpose of the thing. And don’t forget in New York state anyone under 12 on a boat less then 65ft and on deck MUST wear a life jacket.
The Puddle Jumper: If the strap on the lifejacket makes it impossible to keep on your kid, this is the next best thing. Coastguard certified, this will keep her head and face out of the water. It is great for teaching more independent swimming, since her face is out of the water she can focus on improving her scooping method, or the all too tricky simultaneous scoop and kick, otherwise known as the doggie paddle.
The Back Float: This is really just meant to aid a kid who is a. already an adequate swimmer who just needs a little help staying on the surface. Or, b. is a kid who is learning to swim with an adult within arms reach. This puppy might keep the kid on the surface, but they have to keep their own head above the water.
The Water Wings: These I seriously don’t get. Admittedly, unlike the others, I have no first hand experiences with these. That said, they seem analogous to the back float, in that they are basically useless unless the kid has some rudimentary swimming skills AND you are right next to them. It seems as if, in a worst-case scenario, these would only keep the arms and everything above the eyeballs out of the water. But, like I said, I’ve never seen these in action.
The Inner Tube Swim Shirt: This is probably the cutest option. This falls somewhere between the puddle Jumper and the floaty. It goes all the way around the swimmer, which adds to the buoyancy, but may make forward motion, and learning to swim in general, rot of tricky. That said, my nephew could do laps in this bad boy.
Sarah Moriarty is a writer and editor. Sarah’s writing has appeared in such hallowed places as her blog, her mother’s email inbox, the backs of Value Pack envelopes and a waist-high stack of mole skin journals. In addition, Sarah has contributed to F’Dinparkslope.com, WhattoExpect.com and edited fiction for Lost Magazine. A resident of Brooklyn for the last eleven years, Sarah lives with her husband, daughter and a dwindling population of cats. Check out more of Sarah’s work at sarahmoriarty.com.