Will arm bands or float jacket help LO enjoy water?

[gourd]

Trying to get LO (21 Months) happy in a swimming pool. We don't have a bath so this may be part of the problem. She hated the baby bath and wouldn?t lie down in it once she was able to sit up by herself, so once she outgrew it we just used the shower and this means she?s not used to sitting or standing in water. We have tried (first in expensive coached sessions at warm hydrotherapy pool) on and off since she was 3 months old but she still hates being in any pool. Local pool has a ?shallow? teaching pool (hip height for me) but far too deep for her feet to reach the bottom and she cant walk in down the huge steps by herself either (big steps also mean sudden depth) so I have to carry her in which may be part of the problem as she doesn't have any control over how far she goes in, and can?t touch the bottom. She will sit on the top step, happily splashing her feet in the water and playing with toy watering can for half an hour or more, but for £4 a go (I have to pay for an adult swim plus 60p for her even though I obviously don't get to swim) this seems a lot of money for a foot bath. In the pool she cries and screams as soon as we go in, throwing herself backwards, arching her back and having a tantrum as I try to hold onto her in the water.

I?ve been wondering if me holding onto her is part of the problem and is making her frightened - she may think the water is dangerous because I am holding onto her all the time, so thought a floatation aid may help. Should I get arm bands? Do they allow you to completely let go of the child so they can float by themselves? Are back floats or swim jackets/suits better for floating and for getting them into a swimming position (and also they cant see when you remove floats once they are confident)? Arm bands are much cheaper but if they are not going to help I?d rather spend money on a better floatation device ? but I have read that the floatation jackets/suits are for those already trying to swim not those completely terrified of water so not sure if they would support her well enough without me holding onto her as well? Will having any type of flotation aid actually help with this problem? We?ve tried toys and a ball but she just wont go in after them. I just want her to enjoy being in the water and to gradually learn to float by herself (the swimming bit can come later) as I think it's such a useful skill. Your tips and experience please?!!

we have used arm bands, a swim ring and a swim noodle for support in the water. I have never used a float suit.

the ring/armbands were from elc e.g. arm bands, swim ring, noodle/woggle

I suggest you just keep paying £4.60 every week or 2 & let her take her own time about going in for fun, try to go when there are kiddy sessions & she can see other children enjoying themselves.

I am a huge fan of float suits, they let kids use their arms almost naturally. But they don't contribute to water confidence in my experience, either. And it takes a while for child to get used to them, Can be 5 or 7 tries before child trusts it.

Are there any other swimming pools nearby that have a gentle slope into the water rather than steps, so she could play independently in the shallow water and ease in a bit deeper if she felt like it? Have you got a paddling pool for the garden when it's warm? I tried armbands with dd (15mo) but she hated them, was completely freaked out by them being inflated so didn't even get as far as trying them in the pool.

No there aren't any other leisure type pools nearby, not near enough for me to get to on Fridays on my day off anyway. There is one an hour away. We have a paddling pool but it's not been used yet - we've been waiting from some sun/warm days before using it. Unfortunately we didn't yet have it in March when we had that week of sunshine and we haven't had any sunshine since we bought it the week afterwards! I work Mon-Thur so the only chance to swim/use a paddling pool is Fridays and weekend. We had thought of going to the coast during our annual leave (but we've now only got two weeks left in August this year so fingers crossed) but again we've been waiting for decent weather and have had a week of rain whenever we?ve been on leave this year. Coast is 90 minute drive each way so no point going if weather is inclement or if she's going to hate it anyway - she hates sand on her feet or on any of her toys as well despite weekly trips to park with local sand-filled play area, sand pit in CMs garden and at playgroup... Will get arm bands to start with and try them ? was hoping they would totally support LO so I could let go of her in the water, but it sounds like none of the floatation aids actually do that anyway unless the child already has some idea how to float.

Think I'll only invest in float suit or back floats once she starts to show some sign of enjoying it - if they dont really help with confidence any more than just going to the pool frequently, I will wait to see if she starts enjoying it first. Thanks for your responses.