Look my kid is a great swimmer who started learning how to swim at 3 but also used a puddle jumper sometimes from age 3 to 5 and it did not result in us ignoring her in the pool nor did it delay her swimming development. It enabled us to take her to the pool more often and to stay longer when we did.

We also sometimes used teaching aids like the flotation device you can strap to a kids back or stomach or the barbells they hold in front of the to practice kicking and breathing technique. But it was nice to have something we could put her in when she just wanted to chill in the water that was more secure than a regular floating tube or something (which a kid that small could easily fall through or lose hold of and if she was tired or panicked might not know how to handle).

It was fine. People who are adamantly against the use of puddle jumpers are fixating on specific scenarios (parents who put their kids in floaties and then leave them unattended, people who use flotation devices in lieu of teaching their kids to swim, people who rely on flotation devices to avoid teaching basic water safety). I agree they should not be used in those ways. But that does not mean that any use of a puddle jumper is de facto bad for kids.

This is just like those people who believe anything other than breastfeeding for the first year will make your child stupid. Or people who yell at you for letting your kid fall asleep in a carseat. It's just a weirdly rigid and context-free approach to parenting.

Puddle jumpers put them in the wrong body position. They actually delay learning to float and self rescue. So many parents of drowned toddlers are vehemently against the puddle jumper. You’d have to live under a rock not to know this. If your kid finds water during a non-swimming time, they jump in thinking they will float and then they don’t.

3 is old enough to learn how to swim for 99% of children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop judging people, ladies. Some kids learn how to swim later than others. Not all of us have the luxury to sit by the pool five days a week every summer. Also, not all kids WANT to learn how to swim. We tried lessons for years with my youngest and she refused to put her face in the water until one day, she finally did (at 6!). She did use a flotation device up until that age (puddle jumper, life vest, kick board) but there was always a parent in the pool with her - I don't know why people here are assuming that parents put a puddle jumper on their kid, throw them in the water, and walk away. Pools don't even allow that.

Uh…what? If your kid is going to a pool you have an absolute duty to teach them to swim. Good lord, you are a horrible parent.

DP this response is peak DCUM lol

Anonymous wrote:Stop judging people, ladies. Some kids learn how to swim later than others. Not all of us have the luxury to sit by the pool five days a week every summer. Also, not all kids WANT to learn how to swim. We tried lessons for years with my youngest and she refused to put her face in the water until one day, she finally did (at 6!). She did use a flotation device up until that age (puddle jumper, life vest, kick board) but there was always a parent in the pool with her - I don't know why people here are assuming that parents put a puddle jumper on their kid, throw them in the water, and walk away. Pools don't even allow that.

Uh…what? If your kid is going to a pool you have an absolute duty to teach them to swim. Good lord, you are a horrible parent.

Anonymous wrote:Stop judging people, ladies. Some kids learn how to swim later than others. Not all of us have the luxury to sit by the pool five days a week every summer. Also, not all kids WANT to learn how to swim. We tried lessons for years with my youngest and she refused to put her face in the water until one day, she finally did (at 6!). She did use a flotation device up until that age (puddle jumper, life vest, kick board) but there was always a parent in the pool with her - I don't know why people here are assuming that parents put a puddle jumper on their kid, throw them in the water, and walk away. Pools don't even allow that.

If you google puddle jumpers (or read the post explaining it) you’ll better understand that it’s not about when they wear them.

Stop judging people, ladies. Some kids learn how to swim later than others. Not all of us have the luxury to sit by the pool five days a week every summer. Also, not all kids WANT to learn how to swim. We tried lessons for years with my youngest and she refused to put her face in the water until one day, she finally did (at 6!). She did use a flotation device up until that age (puddle jumper, life vest, kick board) but there was always a parent in the pool with her - I don't know why people here are assuming that parents put a puddle jumper on their kid, throw them in the water, and walk away. Pools don't even allow that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stearns is the best. We used it on my daughter when she was 28 lbs and she was fine.

I don't get all the parents knocking them - they are great! Not a single parent in here is plopping their kid in a puddle jumper, throwing them in the deep end and walking away to go lounge on a chair. Come on people.

Oh yes they do. I see this all the time.

+1, they absolutely give parents (and the kid) a false sense of security. I would never use them.

I have seen people do this but I never did it and we used a puddle jumper. In fact I didn't let my kid go in the pool alone until she was 7 and had been swimming for several years. Just because some irresponsible parents use flotation devices irresponsibly doesn't mean everyone who uses a flotation device is irresponsible.

Literally in the tag it will tell you to never allow your kid in the water unsupervised. If some people violate this clear directive, they will or bably also do other risky things, puddle jumper or not.

Anonymous wrote:Get a grip people. My 3 y/o can swim and still has a puddle jumper for playing for longer stretches in the deep end with her cousins— she doesn’t have the stamina yet and doesn’t want to be left out. Calm down.

The body-glove brand has shoulder straps which made for a better fit on my skinny kid.

+1, my kid learned to swim at 3 but would get tired after 15 minutes or so and I didn't trust her with a pool noodle or an inner tube like I would an older, stronger swimmer. Heck, I hang onto a pool noodle in the pool sometimes if I'm tired and want a break.

I'd rather my kid spend 2 hours in the pool and 80% in a puddle jumper than have to limit all our pool visits to 15-30 minutes until she's 5 or 6.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stearns is the best. We used it on my daughter when she was 28 lbs and she was fine.

I don't get all the parents knocking them - they are great! Not a single parent in here is plopping their kid in a puddle jumper, throwing them in the deep end and walking away to go lounge on a chair. Come on people.

Oh yes they do. I see this all the time.

+1, they absolutely give parents (and the kid) a false sense of security. I would never use them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please. We used a puddle jumper until my child was 5 and then we switched to making her using a kick board.

Lazy

+1. Kids can be taught to swim well before age 5. Our kids were swimming by age 4 and they were on the later end compared to many of our friends/neighbors/their cousins.

Let me guess you have FIVE? And you have a tie Tok that shows them off? Your'e always wearing that teeny tiny white bikini in them with bright red lipstick at the pool? I know you, sugar butt! And yes, I know that's what your husband calls you, LOL

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please. We used a puddle jumper until my child was 5 and then we switched to making her using a kick board.

Lazy

WTF is wrong you, you wretched nasty little wench???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stearns is the best. We used it on my daughter when she was 28 lbs and she was fine.

I don't get all the parents knocking them - they are great! Not a single parent in here is plopping their kid in a puddle jumper, throwing them in the deep end and walking away to go lounge on a chair. Come on people.

Oh yes they do. I see this all the time.

seriously-- what are these comments about getting in the pool- isn't that the default? my kid is in a lifejacket but still wouldn't dare leave her

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stearns is the best. We used it on my daughter when she was 28 lbs and she was fine.

I don't get all the parents knocking them - they are great! Not a single parent in here is plopping their kid in a puddle jumper, throwing them in the deep end and walking away to go lounge on a chair. Come on people.

Oh yes they do. I see this all the time.

For the record, no kid has ever drowned in a puddle jumper.

You may be right, I didn’t look up the statistics like you did. But the data I do have shows it’s worse than that. It’s drowning when they aren’t using it because you’ve trained them to swim in a drowning position. You’ve taught them how to drown, not how to swim, though a kid doesn’t know the difference.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/toddler-drowned-warning-puddle-jumpers-71688831

https://www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com/post/puddle-jumpers-more-harm-than-good-how-floatation-devices-can-be-dangerous-for-your-child

https://herviewfromhome.com/puddle-jumpers-drowning/

https://www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com/post/ditch-the-floaties-the-dangers-of-the-popular-puddle-jumper

https://memphismoms.com/why-puddle-jumpers-are-the-worst-and-other-things-your-swim-instructor-wants-you-to-know/

+1, the fact that it’s 2024, drowning deaths are increasing - not decreasing - and people don’t understand this is truly astonishing. Do people use the same logic with car seats? “I’m a safe driver so he’s fine!” Insanity. My kids have never used one, love the water but have a very healthy level of fear and respect for it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stearns is the best. We used it on my daughter when she was 28 lbs and she was fine.

I don't get all the parents knocking them - they are great! Not a single parent in here is plopping their kid in a puddle jumper, throwing them in the deep end and walking away to go lounge on a chair. Come on people.

Oh yes they do. I see this all the time.

For the record, no kid has ever drowned in a puddle jumper.

You may be right, I didn’t look up the statistics like you did. But the data I do have shows it’s worse than that. It’s drowning when they aren’t using it because you’ve trained them to swim in a drowning position. You’ve taught them how to drown, not how to swim, though a kid doesn’t know the difference.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/toddler-drowned-warning-puddle-jumpers-71688831

https://www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com/post/puddle-jumpers-more-harm-than-good-how-floatation-devices-can-be-dangerous-for-your-child

https://herviewfromhome.com/puddle-jumpers-drowning/

https://www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com/post/ditch-the-floaties-the-dangers-of-the-popular-puddle-jumper

https://memphismoms.com/why-puddle-jumpers-are-the-worst-and-other-things-your-swim-instructor-wants-you-to-know/