It's strongly recommended that children wear a lifejacket at all times on the water.
From one year old, babies can start to wear float suits, jackets or vests in the pool. Although armbands are the first choice for many parents, swimwear with built-in buoyancy aids can help babies feel more confident in the pool and encourage them to maintain the natural horizontal position for swimming.
Swim vests can be a step up from puddle jumpers, as they can give your child more freedom to move their arms, so that they can improve their swimming techniques in a more natural way.
Swim nappies are a must
No baby is going to enjoy the experience if they're waterlogged in their standard nappy. Most pools wouldn't allow them in wearing those anyway. Instead, buy specific swim nappies – available in most big supermarkets or chemists – and a suitable swimsuit, trunks or wetsuit.
Water Safety USA also recommends that inexperienced or non-swimmers, as well as children under five who aren't within arm's reach of an adult, wear a life jacket in the pool.
Baby wetsuits provide extra warmth for babies swimming in cooler water, allowing them to stay in the water for longer, whilst keeping them cosy when they leave the pool or sea. For maximum warmth choose a fleece-lined Warm In One thermal wetsuit that covers arms and legs.
The difference between a swim vest and a life jacket is this: a life jacket is certified to keep it's wearer's head above water, and a swim vest is not. A swim vest would not be a safe option during activities like boating, for example.
It is important to remember, however, that even if your child is wearing a lifejacket or is swimming with a different approved PFD, they should always be supervised. Depending on their skill level, this could either mean being in the water with them, or at an arm's reach away.
Isn't age 3 too young to start learning to swim? No, it is not. Actually, in most swim schools including ours, between age 3 to 4 years, teachers start moving away from allocating most of the lesson time to playing and focus more on teaching technique by adding more structure to lessons.
PFDs or life jackets should be worn by all infants who weigh at least 9 kg (20 lb) and by toddlers who are swimming or playing near or in the water. Check the label to be sure that your child's PFD or life jacket meets current national safety standards.
Call to a parent or another child who's closest to where your child went under, or get in there yourself. Once you pull your child out, see if they're conscious and breathing. If they're coughing, give them a few good pats on the back to help them clear water from their lungs. If they aren't breathing, call 911.
Baby's skin, eyes and breathing passages are more sensitive to chlorine than are adults. If you walk into the poolroom and immediately smell chlorine, assume it's too strong for baby. Try to avoid heavily chlorinated indoor pools.
When and Where to Wear a Life Jacket. For everyone: Around cold water and ice. For small children and weak swimmers: Any time they are near water, including pools and waterparks. For everyone: When on or in oceans & open water.
Even competent swimmers should wear a lifejacket when they are in open water or involved in activities such as fishing, boating and jet skiing because, if an accident happens, they may need to spend a long time in the water awaiting rescue, have to swim a long distance to shore, or they may be injured or unconscious.
Generally speaking (and I mean very generally), a three or four year old child with no prior swim experience will likely be able to competently swim by the end of three weeks or twelve sessions of consistent swim lessons.
Don't keep your baby in the pool water for longer than 10 minutes at first. When you get out, be sure to wrap your baby in a warm blanket or towel immediately. Babies younger than 12 months shouldn't stay in a pool for longer than 30 minutes at a time.
By their 4th birthday, most children are ready for swim lessons. At this age, they usually can learn basic water survival skills such as floating, treading water and getting to an exit point. By age 5 or 6, most children in swim lessons can master the front crawl.
Most disposable and reusable swim nappies are suitable for children up to the age of three. There are a number of reasons why children older than this may require swim nappies: Potty training is taking a little longer. Your local pool requires all children under a certain age to use swim nappies.
Unlike armbands, which position a child's arms above their chest and restrict arm movement, float vests fit snuggly to the torso, allowing children to have a full range of movement. Float vests help position children in a natural swimming position in the water, whilst providing extra buoyancy as they learn to swim.
Can children swim when they're sick? It's fine for children who have colds or other minor illnesses to swim so long as they feel well enough to do so. If your child has diarrhea, is vomiting, has a fever, or is diagnosed with COVID-19 or another infectious illness, he or she should stay out of the water.