Floaties… yes or no

Short answer, no. Long answer, yes. Lets go over why I would say no first. Traditionally as a swim instructor one of the first things you’re taught is that floaties teach children a false sense of safety. Essentially, giving them a misguided security about their skills in water. American Pool, for example, has posted articles about this. This information might leave you asking what do I do if I have multiple kids, or I’m with my child at a pool party and I don’t want to run the risk? My answer would be, the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time should be spent in swim lessons learning how to be water safe and swimming with mom and dad being attentive, and no floaties. 20% of the time, you deserve a bit of a break from being so alert and peace of mind. If you’ve already got your kiddo dependent on floaties, a trick is to have them wear floaties that can be filled with air, and slowly take out air in combination with lessons to become water safe. If you child is also scared, any practice in the bathtub would be great. Eventually, filling the bathtub a bit higher so they can practice fully submerging their heads. As always if you have any questions, please feel free to email and ask!