Swimming Advice please

[canarygirl]

I took dd1 (27 months) swimming on Sunday for the first time since dd2 (10mths) came along. She absolutely loved it and was beside herself with excitement . I forgot her armbands so she was just in a ring and she very quickly got her balance and bobbed about for ages kicking her legs without me holding her. My question is would it be irresponsible to try and take dd2 aswell and hold her and let dd1 bob about? I would love to take her again as she loved it so much but need to take dd2 most of the time and she also loves water. Also what is best, armbands, ring or both? Sorry if I sound thick but I feel there is baby swimming etiquette that I know nothing about !

[pyjamaqueen]

You don't need armbands if you're going to be with the child. It's actually more confusing for the child to think that they automatically float!

[filchthemildmanneredjanitor]

a lot of swimming pools insist on a 1;1 ratio with tinies.

[canarygirl]

I thought that filch, but they said it would be fine to have two, I'm a bit nervous about it though

[Quattrocento]

What I would suggest for both of yours is a floaty jacket. This is a bit tangential to your actual question, but floaty jackets REALLY REALLY provided both me and DC's complete peace of mind. They have straps that go between the legs, they zip up the front and they are bloody fabulous.

Our local baths let two tots per parent in - don't know if this varies. You will be frazzled though, making sure they both don't slip through the rings. Unless of course you invest in a floaty jacket ...

[Quattrocento]

Found an example but you want some with straps between the legs as well for the ultra tot

www.bumpto3.com/product.aspx?DISPLAYCAT=outdoors&CAT=Products&CATGRY=swim_accessories& PID=BH110

Frustrating - can't do proper links on this pc as do not know where the key thingies are. You'll have to cut and paste into your browser.

[christywhisty]

I would go for armbands but I wouldn't take 2 little ones, both mine could swim a width at the age of 4, so it didn't confuse them. Our pool insists on 1 to 1 under 5.

[recsy]

I am a qualified swimming teacher and i would not advise those rings at all. They are dangerous. I have seen children lean forward to reach things and have gone straight over the top and flipped over, not able to turn over to get up. These rings do keep your body upright but keep the centre of gravity in the middke thus being able to flip over if the child leans too far back or forward.
I would rather you use nothing at all as there is no point in teaching a child to swim twice - once with arm bands and again without.
But seeing as you have two little ones then arm bands are the way to go in my opinion.
The jackets are too restrictive for the children to fully enjoy and apreciate the water.
With the arm bands, as the child gets bigger and more confident, you can then just not put as much air in them. this teaches the child a better body position for future swimming unlike the jackets.
Hope this helps.
lizz.