Swim Jacket/Vests - Don't know what size to buy.

[Phoenix]

Most of the ones i've been looking at are age 2-3 (12kgs to 16kgs) then the next size is age 4-5 (17kgs to 21kgs). Ds is 2.2 and weighs 15kgs. What size should i get? They're not cheap so don't want to waste money.

I'm looking at the Konfidence ones, has anyone got one and are they good or would you go for cheaper ones?

I wouldn't get one at all.
The lifeguards at our pool say not to get these as they can flip the child on to their front (face in water) or back and don't actually help them to swim.
I tried one for ds2 and saw what she meant so I bunged it on ebay the next day
There was also the fact that he HATED wearing it.

He did a lot better with armbands and a ring the first couple of times, then just armbands once he'd got the hang of keeping his head up.

I don't know about Konfidence suits, We've had the Floaties ones. They have been terrific for us, I'm sure they have helped my dc learn to swim. The sizing, I suspect, is more to do with volume of the child than buoyancy provided.

With the Floaties suits I think you use the same size inflatables whether the suit is for 2-4 or 4-6yo size, it's just the length of the suit that changes.

The nice thing about Floaties suits is they let the child use their arms naturally can't do with armbands. A ring did work well with dc1, but my other children couldn't get the hang of it and it still requires some arm use. I haven't heard of or observed the flipping over problem Fj describes.

DD 15KGs has the 2-3 year old one and works fine on her.

Thanks for the replies

The Zoggs bobin is good from 15kg to 18kg , which is perfect for our DS who is 2.5yrs. Look [[www.kiddykool.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=67_109 here]

never can make those links work . lets try again. Look here for the bobins

Cheers

My dc swimming instructor uses the konfidnce ones now and again during lessons. They need to kick(good for learning to swim) and you need to play with the floats inside ie remove some depending on size of child to prevent tipping.

I went with Konfidence for our 3 because of the yellow panel on the back so we could spot them all easily on the beach but I think they're all pretty similar.

We went for the bigger size to get value for money out of them but no idea if this is the right thing to do. Make sure he can't slip out.

Looking at wetsuits now they're older-ouch going to cost us!!!!!!