Swimming with a toddler - arm bands?

[chipsinabarm]

Going on holiday next week and plan to take my 2 year old swimming. She has done very little swimming up to this point so is not confident in the water. Have got swimming nappies etc but am wondering whether people recommend arm bands, or one of those costumes that has a float built in, or some other swimming aid? I've seen some people saying they don't think those are a good idea but I'm not that confident going without them. Advice much appreciated!

My 18 month swims happily with arm bands. My pal was at the pool with us recently and her wee guy has one of those suits with floats. All much of a muchness.

Have a great time!

I tried lots and swim discs worked best. No random deflating like armbands, and the child floats the right way up (which is not necessarily the case with swim suits and waist floats).

I’m an swimming teacher and going straight in to armbands at that age can cause balance issues and potential scare the little one.

I’d buy the biggest seat ring you can buy, just so little one can enjoy the sensation of floating with out having try and balance. There maybe a baby pool there that little one can potter around walking in the seat if it’s shallow enough.

I’d also buy around four slim rings for each arm. They don’t make the arm as stiff.

Take LOTS of toys that can go in the water for fun play.

All the swimming teachers I’ve worked with (worked in leisure for years as a teen/during uni) have advised against inflatable armbands as they make it hard to use your arms properly and make you balance weirdly. I’m pretty sure kids of my generation all learned to swim in armbands though and are fine so it’s probably not a huge deal. I’d be inclined to try one of those zip up floaty jackets or a suit with floats in.

I don’t like the zip up jackets in case they slip out of them.

Going against the grain here but I tried pretty much everything I could think of before a swimming teacher told me to buy the biggest arm bands I could find. And they were great! My little one felt instantly confident as he just couldn't sink! He can't use his arms but goes so so fast kicking his legs and most importantly has built up confidence in the water

My 2yo won't keep arm bands or swim discs on because she thinks it's more fun to bob around under water
She has a swim fin which she loves, although she wasn't ready for it at just-2 (last summer) so it may only be an option if you have an older 2yo. They are great as they help them to hold a better position in the water and their arms are free. They are also a bit harder to remove if you position the strap ends around the back We mostly don't bother using anything though as she'll happily hitch a ride on our back as we swim around.