Ok girls I need all of your opinions on what will be the best kind of floating device for my 17mo. boy. We will be going camping for Memorial weekend so we will be hanging out by the water alot of the time. I want something that will be comfortable for him but also very safe. Should I get a life jacket or swimsuit that has the floats built in? Right now I am looking at the swimsuits with built in flotation devices and also the life jackets that do not go over the arms so that they can be more mobile in it. Thanks in advance for your opionions.
My son has the Body Glove wetsuit that has built in flotation and it is great! He has worn it the last two years. I believe we got it at Target or Walmart. My inlaws live at the lake, so it is a must for us.
Are you going to be on a boat or just swimming from the shore? If you are going on a boat you have to have the life vest. There are ones with a strap that goes between the legs and a handle on the top. You could get a ticket if stopped by the "boat cops" and the baby is not in a special vest. If you are just playing on the shore, then I would go with the swimsuit with the built in floats. They worked well for us in swimming pools.
I would get the suits with the built-in floating device. When we used a life jacket, it was always pushing up over their head or at least up to their chins. The suits are move flexible and probably would be such a bother to your son either.
I am actually looking into getting one for my 4 yr old daughter for this summer. She is Miss Independence now and will not use anything that constricts her movement.
J. S.
My son was so skinny that the suits with the floating devices didn't fit until last summer when he turned 4. If they don't fit well, they can float up and make them panic. We used either a thing he sat in (the one we got came from Target and folded up like PlayHut type material and had 2 small rings in the center and the outter edge that blew up. It was perfect as he could motor around where ever he wanted to go) or a swimming life jacket. We could get it snug enough to not cause any problems and it wasn't as bulky as the ones rated for boating and water sports (we used that too on the lake).
Good Luck!
My daughter is pretty skinny and we used the life jacket that zips up. She also had a swimsuit with floates, but it did not fit very well because she was so skinny. I would just buy both to be on the safe side.
I purchased a swimsuit with individual, removable floaties from a swimming pool supply store. It worked great! I used all the floats when he needed them, but as he gained confidence and ability, I gradually removed them. He loved having independence of not having to hold onto me in the water so he could really "swim". I am about to put in on Craig's List for sale.
I used the kind with the floatation built in the last two summers. They work great! My son felt very comfortable using it. In fact he wouldn't go in the water without it! My only advice is to buy a tad big but not too much. They seem to skrink a little when they get wet. Some of my famliy didn't like how 'tight' it was in certain places on him. I wish they made them with lose fit legs.
