Swim vests for toddlers help teach toddlers how to swim easily and safely. You can choose between a swim vest or a floating jacket, which is lighter and sometimes has panties. Both provide equal buoyancy and support for children as they swim.
Important: Toddler swim vests do not fulfill any life-saving function and are therefore extremely different from certified life jackets or children's life jackets.
The most common materials to use are neoprene and rubber-like plastics. The materials should be free of harmful substances, such as plasticizers, and be gentle on the skin, especially when used on toddlers or babies.
A swim vest for toddlers gives you a safe feeling and helps your child to learn to swim. But it gets even better. Some swim vests even keep toddlers warm, offer UV protection, and prevent bruises during water sports. So how do you find the best swim vests for toddlers and avoid bad purchases?
Swim vests for toddlers: A checklist
- Wearing comfort: A swim vest must fit comfortably and not chafe.
- Safety: Despite wearing a swim vest, never leave your child in the water unattended. A swim vest is not a life jacket and will not save an unconscious child.
- Models: Children's swim vests are often gender-neutral - but there are also models with colors for boys and girls. A swim vest with a crotch strap prevents you from riding up.
- Size: Weight, not age, is the key to getting the right size.
- Maintenance: Regular maintenance improves the safety and longevity of the product.
What is a swim vest?
Toddler’s swim vests are swimming aids. They help your children to get enough buoyancy in the water to be able to swim without much effort. This will ensure your child has great, untroubled fun playing and splashing around in the water. You don't have to constantly slow down and scold the children.
Life jackets, therefore, increase the safety of your children in the water many times over.
Important: You should always keep an eye on your children despite swim vests for todders because the swimming aids are not the same as life jackets.
How to choose the right swim vest for toddlers
Choosing the right swim vests for your children is not as easy as it sounds. Above all, swim vests for toddlers and small children must be safe and reliably protect children in the water. In addition, swim vests for toddlers should be comfortable to wear and visually appealing so that your children enjoy wearing them.
What are the advantages and benefits of swim vests for toddlers?
- Swim vests for toddlers make it easier for children to swim.
- They also increase the safety of the child enormously.
- Swim vests for toddlers also protect against injuries.
When can you start using a children's swim vest?
Children 15 months and older should wear a life jacket or a swim vest.
For babies and small children up to 2 years of age, the range of suitable swim vests is rather small. You should make sure that the swim vest fits your child perfectly and that it cannot slip on the small body. An alternative to the vest is the baby swimming ring.
Are children's swim vests suitable for learning to swim?
The ideal age for children to learn to swim is between five and eight years. The swim vest is very helpful here because the buoyancy can be gradually reduced.
This swimming aid does not rub on the arm and the constant buoyancy makes it easier for little ones to stay on the water surface.
What types of swim vests for toddlers are there?
There are several types of life jackets for children on the market. Among them are those with removable parts, a collar, wings, and a crotch strap.
Manufacturers go to great lengths to make swim vests appealing to little ones. Cool designs and a whistle should help you to get the child to put on a vest.
When buying, pay attention to the manufacturer's weight and size information so that your child's vest fits as well as possible.
Does a swim vest even make sense for your child?
On boat trips and water sports, a proper life jacket is certainly important or sometimes even mandatory.
In natural waters, the life jacket for a child is highly recommended. Currents and murky water are very dangerous in emergency situations.
At a pool, particularly light swim vests are best suited. There are now very cool swim vests in many colors and shapes. When buying a swim vest for your child, think about the needs of the child and stay true to your own beliefs. The swimming vests are usually made of skin-friendly neoprene.
Useful features of swim vests
Many vests have a signal whistle. This will help you convince your children to put on the life jacket.
The crotch strap ensures that the life jacket does not slip over your child's head. It gives extra support and keeps an unconscious person in the right position in the water.
Decision: What types of swim vests are available for children and which one is right for you and your child?
It is very important that the life jacket or a swim vest does not hinder your child's movement but fulfills its purpose in an emergency. Swim vests help children keep their heads and upper bodies above water. In contrast to armbands, however, they promote movement because the children have their arms and legs free and can therefore better influence the swimming position. Make sure the buoyancy is in the chest area and that a swim vest is not slipping off the small body of a toddler.
FAQ
What can I use as an alternative to a swim vest?
The trade-offs are the following swimming aids for small children:
- Floating seats. The classic swimming seat is actually a swimming aid for babies in their first year of life and is designed up to a weight of around 11 kg.
- Armbands.
- Swimming discs.
- Life belts and life jackets for older children.
When the toddler can swim better, you can gradually remove the buoyancy aids.