What Is the Best Life Vest for My 4 Year Old

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Hi all~ I usually do not contradict other moms' adivce b/c it is not my place, Im no expert. But I have to say please, please, please DO NOT put your kids in an inflatable ring. They are SOOOO dangerous b/c they can flip over, trapping your kiddo upside down...I've seen it happen too many times. There are safer devices for learning to swim. I Don't mean to offend, after all we are all on here to be better moms, right?

Hi K.~
I am certainly no expert, but I would say it depends on if you are talking lake or pool. Sounds like a silly question, but we bought a vest for our son (3yrs) because he wouldn't trust the arm floaties. I found a GREAT 'vest' at ToysRUs that looks more like a front and back kickboard. It goes over his head and has elastic on the sides, as well as an adjustable strap through the crotch. The 'boards' are adjustable too depending on thier swimming abilities. Of course as soon as I bought it, he decided to start swimming WITH the floaties...go figure! I have no idea if this vest is appropriate for actual lifesaving or boating...our intention was poolside. Good Luck!
~L.

K.,
I had the same problem, all the lifejackets would eithe push my dtr backwards or forwards and not upright in the water. My dtr is 3.5 yo and around 30lbs and I ended buying her a life jacket from Target. It's a speedo brand that's pink & purple with flowers on it. It zips up the front amd has a strap that goes between the legs. It has an RN number on the inside tag taht reads 54934. It also has Speedo written on the back. It was in with the pools things and cost around $20. I LOVE this jacket. As a matter of fact I bought another one a size bigger for next year. My 3.5 yo can swim all over our inground pool by herself without going under or being pushed backwards. This one works for us so give it a try. I'm not sure where you live but the Target on Vandyke and 15 had a couple left last week. Good luck and I hope this works for your dtr.
L.

Hi K.,
I understand your frustration. From what I know about life vests, they are not intended to hold the face above water. They are more for keeping the body afloat. I think we should be focusing on teaching our children to tread water b/c with the extra buoyancy from a life vest, they can easily keep the face out of the water.
I am working on this with my 2 yr old. I bought him not a life vest, but a buoyancy suit with hopes of teaching him the skill of treading water and swimming. He has to work just the right amount in order to keep his face above water, and with a "noodle" or a kickboard, he can actually rest and play in the water while working on his kicks.
While a life vest is necessary for boating, it is not the best for swimming or learning to swim. My buoyancy suit is made by Learning to Swim 1-2-3 and believe it or not I picked it up at Kroger for around $12. Our friends like the tube built into the suit, but her girl is only 20mths. Your daughter may or may not be too mature for that.
And yes, swim lessons may be a good idea. I used to teach swim lessons so I'm trying to avoid the extra cost and do it myself with my son. So far so good.
Hope you find something that works well for your girl.

K.,

My first piece of advice would be to get your daughter in some swimming lessons right away! They will help her start to learn the basics of swimming, start learning the proper movements and get her used to things like floating on her back, putting her face in the water and getting her head wet. Both my kids took lessons. My daughter's first class used a floater that is like a back pack. It straps around the child's chest and has several layers of material on the back. As your child gets stronger and more confident, you remove a layer, forcing them to swim more on their own. Both of my kids loved this really useful device. I hope you can find one for your daughter! Here's the link: http://www.aqua-gear.com/cgi-bin/cart.pl?db=stuff.dat&amp...

K.-

I'm not sure if your looking for a life vest for boating? Or something for swimming? I have twins, and I've found the best swimsuit made by My Pool Pal. It has flotation devices sewn right into the suit. These are sometimes pricey, but are worth every penny. My twins LOVE these suits. They also help with learning to swim because it doesn't hamper the arms like those blow up swimmy things. The suit dries like a normal swim suit. It doesn't get moldy/stinky. But make sure it's a MY POOL PAL. There is a tag on it. I bought one on ebay that claimed to be one, and it was not.

Hope this helps!

M.

I'm not an expert on this, but I think a life vest isn't for swimming but more for safety. You can find some swim suits with built in floating devices, look by sporting goods, but at 4 years old I think one of the rings or some arm floaties should be enough for swimming in the pool, with you near by of course.