Another for children thingy I hate …

Arm floaties

                This one comes more from being a lifeguard than from being an early childhood professional. These are so dangerous. As a lifeguard, I saw so many parents that just totally ignored their children in the water. This is why we did not allow most of the child floatation devices, especially arm floaties. We only allowed rated life jackets (and no, not the things sewn in to the swimming suit either).

                Why are arm floaties a death trap?

Think about what they are. Little air pockets you strap around their arms. If these air pockets slide down to their wrists, now their arms are above their head and trapping their face under water – death trap. If the air pockets are tight enough to stay put, it’s like strapping a blood pressure gauge to their arm for unsaid amount of time and cutting off circulation to their arms. Even if they should happen to stay in the right place without cutting off circulation, imagine how tiring that is to keep their arms up at the sides like that. Plus, they are preventing them from learning the proper way to swim.

The first point of contention to me as far as children swimming is that parents should stay with them in the water until they are competent swimmers. No floaties strapped on so that you can lie out and work on your tan.

I do plan to have my children in the water from a very young age. Water is a natural environment. In utero they are floating in it! I do triathlons and my husband is a world class swimmer (probably could have been Olympic if he wanted), so I am lucky that we can teach swimming skills ourselves. I doubt I will ever use a floatation device (other than rated life jackets while on a boat).