On “Floaties” and Learning To Swim

Written By Emily Snowden

by Dr. Emily A. Snowden

“Puddle jumpers” or “floaties,” as we’ve come to call them, are a type of personal flotation device for children that have become incredibly popular. From a parent perspective, floaties appear to be a “hands off” way to let kids splash around and have fun. From a child’s perspective, floaties become a comfort and relief as they allow them to be mobile, independent, and best of all–they keep their faces out of the water.

However, many swim instructors stand on their soap boxes and beg parents and families to please stop the overwhelming use of these devices. While floaties may give us the illusion of independence, when misused as a constant swimming “prop,” they have a tendency to derail the process of learning to swim and create fear.

Let’s unpack the facts together so we are prepared to use these devices effectively as we support our children in and out of the water.

A young child plays in the water at the ocean shore while wearing a “puddle jumper.”

What are “floaties?”

A puddle jumper or floatie is a specific type of personal floatation device (PFD) that is designed to keep children safe in and around water. Inspired by the “arm floaties” of the past, these are designed with floating devices around the upper arm/shoulder and a child’s abdomen. Parents simply slip children’s arms into the arm “floats,” then buckle the device to secure it around the child’s back. Wearing this helps keep children “buoyant” at the surface of the water. In this position, children become unburdened with regulating “swimming breaths” and other behaviors that, while necessary to independent swimming, are complex and take time to learn.

Some puddle jumpers are so effective that they have received Coast Guard approval as a “Type 3 PFD.” However, this clearance means they are for water safety, not for learning to swim. Even with this necessary support, they do not rank as highly as other PFDs that are designed to always keep a child’s head out of the water, even if they were unconscious.

Additionally, the Coast Guard goes further to sternly say of all these devices that, “PFDs are not babysitters. Even though a child wears a PFD when on or near the water, an adult should always be there, too. Parents should remember that inflatable toys and rafts should not be used in place of PFDs.”

In addition to the fact that children should always wear PFDs when engaging in water activities like recreational boating, in all water situations they need a designated “water watcher” who is close enough for “touch supervision.”

This means that even if a child has a floatation device on they should still be in arm’s reach and supervised at all times. While horrible to have to think about, drowning is a top cause of death in children under four and is often “silent and quick.” We need our hands near and eyes on children at all times in or around water. Our ears are not enough. It is important that parents and families practice drowning prevention and water safety practices.

Learning Swimming Behaviors

PFDs are one of many important preventative measures that keep children safe in the water, like having water watchers at a hands-on distance. These practices don’t just apply to places we swim–they apply to every place where you might be around water. This includes but is not limited to bathrooms, water tables, pools, lakes, beaches, holding ponds–literally any water, even if it’s just a few inches.

Another important one is swimming lessons. The structured teaching of swimming behaviors helps human beings learn to navigate an element they are not typically in.

When I say “swimming behaviors,” I don’t just mean a freestyle stroke. A freestyle stroke or “front crawl” is an excellent swimming milestone! But, the swimming behaviors all early swimmers (not just young children!) need to practice in lessons include:

  • Submerging our bodies in water can feel overwhelming–especially at the beginning. This discomfort is intensified when we put our faces (especially eyes) in water. Being in the water, out of our human “element,” is disorienting and most early swimmers rightfully feel a sense of fear. Personally, when my swimmers are fearful, I say, “Good! They’re right.” Water can be scary and should be acknowledged as such.

    However, with practice, we can get used to the sensation and might grow to find it calming. Even if you never fully get there, it’s important to know how your individual body feels in the water, and also how the water interacts with it.

    This is because we all have different body compositions, and realities like “density” take over in a body of water. It’s important to know what your physical strengths are in the water, as well as where your body needs support. For example, if you have a more dense body, floating may be near impossible, but submerged swimming may make you feel more “in control.”

  • Inspired by other mammalian swimmers (i.e., dolphins and whales), we actually swim by “riding a water current” in a “streamline.” However, to make this work as non-aquatic humans, when broken into the “Newtonian physics” (I know, bear with me…) means we have to create a “propulsion” in order to create motion in the water. Simply put, we have to push off of somewhere like a pool wall or floor to get moving in the water.

    Once we have created this little wave of motion, we need to ride it undisturbed (i.e., with minimal resistance) as long as we can. This is why we must be streamlined.

  • Once we know how to create momentum, we have to be able to “ride the wave” in a streamlined position. This means we create a body position where our spines are fully horizontal in the water, arms by the ears, face in the water (exhaling…), creating the least amount of “resistance.” This keeps us swimming fast and with as little effort as possible. Perfecting a streamline is an important part of competitive swimming, but also everyday swimming.

    Each of the main swimming strokes (freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke, and butterfly) is designed based on these principles of creating momentum then keeping the motion going as long as possible in a streamlined position. However, the skill that precedes each stroke is called a glide, or a push-off into the water in a streamlined position. The learning of swimming strokes is then built on this foundation.

  • We must breathe–no matter what. Yet, we can’t breathe in water. I’m sure, reader, you already are aware of this fact–but it begs naming here.

    As human beings, our early, intuitive solution to this problem is usually to keep the face out of the water–a welcome relief to most! However, keeping your face out of the water wastes too much energy, as it compromises the streamline position.

    So, our most efficient solution is actually to alternate breathing out when our faces are in the water, then turning our heads out of the water and breathing in. Again, our bodies are different and the amount of time we feel comfortable holding the exhale underwater varies.

    For example, when swimming freestyle some people like even inhale and exhale patterns (1:1), while others like to “extend” the exhale for three or so “strokes” (3:1). This is a personal preference, but still follows the same logic of breathing out when in the water, then turning the head out of the water–carefully maintaining the streamline–to take a new breath in.

    While this solution is a great one, it can be hard to coordinate for new swimmers. This is especially true for young children who might not be in a place in their personal development where that pattern or rhythm is available, particularly when they’re doing it alongside so many other behaviors like kicking and streamlining (of course, there are always exceptions). This is why in early swimming, we focus first on getting used to an exhale while in the water, or “blowing bubbles.”

    For all swimmers, but especially young children, rolling and floating comes becomes key here.

  • Floating is one of the most popular and important safety skills because it is a sustained way for children to maintain buoyancy and keep their faces safely out of water to breathe.

    However, floating isn’t easy for everyone, especially when we consider that we need to be able to roll our bodies from a swim into a float, as well as back out.

    It can also be uncomfortable for swimmers, given the fact that our ears are submerged. However, there is no doubt that floating (including getting in and out of a float position) is an important tool for children to have in the wider network of water safety practices. While these skills are typically focused on in a “survival swim” style called “swim-float-swim,” they are fundamental skills to all swimmers.

  • Early swimmers additionally need to know how to safely get in and out of the water. These skills should be practiced on their own as well as in combination. This is because both serve important functions in teaching swimmers how to safely move themselves in water.

    Practicing these skills in lessons includes getting in and out using stairs or ladders, seated and standing jumps (feet before head), and another important safety skill–swimming to a wall and pulling their own body out of the water.

    The latter typically requires a bit of “strength building” with young children, as well as opportunities to practice climbing around and out of a pool. Eventually, this may lead to learning to dive (head before feet–a position that has the potential to be very damaging to the spine when done unsafely).

  • Finally, the last of these skills we will review is submerging under the water. Why is this important? For one, it’s important to know how to lower your body into the water (self-submersion). However, it’s equally if not more important to know how to return to the surface.

    In swim lessons, this tends to be practiced with “dive rings” and is (in my experience) not always a favorite.

As you can see, “swimming behaviors” are a constellation of skills humans need to practice so they can independently move and maintain breath while in the water. These behaviors are learned in lessons from a qualified swimming instructor who is trained to perform to proper holds. Even though we might not see fully independent swimming until age 4 (and coordinated swimming strokes even after), it is recommended by the AAP that children start these lessons around age 1.

From my own experiences as a swimming instructor (and more importantly, someone who struggled to learn to swim), I would like to add that I also believe it’s important that swimmers have the opportunity to intuitively combine these skills and practice “decision making” in lessons. While to some this may look like I’m handing over my authority to a child (a bigger conversation for later—I love when a child is a respectful “negotiator”), it’s vital to their real world swimming.

For example, a child may say “I don’t want to swim how or where you said to.” To that, I respond “Show me how you’re planning on doing it.” While I may then offer some support like, “You’re going to need at least one breath—where will you take it?”, I watch, support where I can, and meaningfully unpack it with them once they “land” (e.g., “Did that feel easier or harder than how I have you swim? or “It seemed like you needed a breath!”)

Learning to swim is a complicated yet pretty predictable process that is based on basic physics. While it can be uncomfortable and truly scary at first, that discomfort subsides as we gain strength and confidence in the water. While swim lessons alone are not enough to ensure a child’s safety, they are an important piece of the puzzle.

A child independently floats in a swimming pool.

How Puddle Jumpers Disrupt the Process of Learning to Swim

As stated above, PFDs are an important part of water safety. However, swimming behaviors need to be developed independently of these devices.

When we put children in PFDs every time they swim, it disrupts their early experiences in the water and instills a false sense of confidence. Based on what you read above, you can now see how puddle jumpers or “floaties” do all of the hard work for the child. When used properly for water safety, that’s a good thing! However, when it comes to acclimating to the water and learning to swim, the misuse of these devices can cause a kind of confusion that requires overcorrection from a well-trained instructor.

When a child has grown to love and feel that they need their floaties, this can cause them to more harshly feel the shock when they have to be in the water without them. With a tool always present that took away the harder and more intimidating parts of swimming (and also limited their range of motion), that false sense of security can thus “create” an exaggerated fear in early swimming that might not be there otherwise. While all children can understandably have strong emotional responses to their first experiences learning to swim, it can be particularly “loud” from this group.

What can we do instead?

If you are a parent or family member who may have leaned into the comfort of the puddle jumper too much, that is totally understandable—you want your child to be safe in the water and I’m sure are doing your best. Now that we have this information, let’s talk about how to prepare children to swim in a slower and maybe more graceful way.

Here are a few things you can work on together outside of swimming lessons that will help prepare you child for success when they start swimming lessons.

  1. Introduce water to the face and eyes in early baths.

Literally–as early as possible–I’m talking about their very first bath, if you can. Take a clean washcloth (no soap!) to their forehead and gently squeeze a small amount of water. This will roll down the face and into the eyes. Let them blink it out for a second (they will probably cry at first) and offer a towel and/or other solution (like comfort) as needed.

If you missed this in infancy, that’s okay. It’s never too late. With older children, we can follow the same sort of process while also talking through the feeling. This may sound like, “How did that feel?” or “I know, it can feel weird when water gets in your eyes.”

After some time, emphasize to them that while it can be uncomfortable, it’s truly not a long-lasting sensation (even though the emotional response might be a bit “louder” and last longer than the physical discomfort at first). Focus on offering solutions and emphasize that an exhale or “blowing bubbles” helps keep water from entering the mouth and nose—the underlying issue that might actually be making this unnecessarily uncomfortable.

An infant and toddler put their heads in water while taking a bath.

Introducing water to the face and eyes during bath time helps them get used to the sensation in a “low-stakes” setting, meaning they get to practice it without having to also deal with the many other physical shocks and sensations, like how it feels to be in “open water” and fatigue. When they show up to swim lessons, this helps lessen the shock and allows them to focus on learning the other swimming behaviors.

Now, it begs stating here that every kid is different—in this and all things. Development is patterned, but deeply personal. You can do “everything right” with your child, and they still may have a hard time with this. It all comes down to their individual temperament and a little biology. For scared children, please don’t give up on this approach of validating the discomfort, offering reassurance that it will pass, and helping them “get to the other side.” Their fear and discomfort is not invalid. Even though it doesn’t excuse them from learning to swim, this response to the water is very natural. While you might not immediately see it pay off, approaching the fear in this way (and most importantly, not punishing it) lays an important foundation.

2. Play with water together.

Take your child to places like pools (indoor or outdoor), beaches, lakes, or any other swimming facility that you have access to and swim together.

Start with motions that acclimate them to the water, such as spinning around slowly and “bobbing” in and out of the water. Don’t be too concerned with keeping water from splashing in their faces, either. In fact, you should put your face in water (as you’re able) so you can model this and other swimming behaviors.

A child plays outside in a sprinkler.

It is very possible that you may not have the access to swimming facilities and/or swimming behaviors yourself. While everyone should have access to structured swimming lessons and opportunities to practice (swimming has amazing health benefits), unfortunately they don’t.

If you are also a new swimmer, consider taking lessons (as you’re able)! Swimming lessons aren’t only for children–everyone needs to know how to swim as a broader part of drowning prevention and water safety. Also, taking swim lessons as an adult is an incredible example to set for your child.

If you don’t have access to swimming facilities, play with water in other ways. While this can include things like “water tables,” sprinklers, or “mud kitchens,” it can be more simple! Think tea parties (with water to pour), sink or float experiments, or a water balloon fight.

3. Stay focused on drowning prevention and water safety in and out of swim season.

Swimming lessons and PFDs are both tools in a network of drowning prevention and water safety practices that we all need to constantly use in and around water. Even with swim lessons and PFDs, we always need to have a “water watcher” in arm’s reach around any amount of water–even if only a matter of inches.

A child and her caregiver walk along the shore during the cold season.

Children also need to be explicitly taught that they do not enter or go near water alone. Remember, we can sternly reinforce rules like this and also “have fun.” A child should be removed from water if they are struggling with water safety rules. However, building positive memories under the supervision of a nearby water watcher is important to reinforcing this as well.

Moving Forward

The purpose of this article is simply to share some of the information about how the constant use of “floaties” can disrupt the process of learning to swim.

PFDs, including puddle jumpers, should have Coast Guard approval and be used for water safety. However, when it comes to swimming, we additionally want to make sure that children have opportunities to learn swimming behaviors outside of PFDs. This starts with their caregivers at home, who can support children in having positive early experiences with water before, during, and after their time formally learning to swim.

It’s okay to use a puddle jumper sometimes when swimming. However, you must remember—a puddle jumper is not a replacement for learning to swim, or for a “water watcher.” We also must make sure that children have opportunities to acclimate to water outside of PFDs and in the hands of a trusted caregiver.

Parents, families, and all caregivers of young children should continue to stay updated on all aspects of drowning prevention and water safety. US families can find information from the American Academy of Pediatrics on their official website, or their more family-friendly resource healthychildren.org.

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield.”
— Lao Tzu

Additional Resources

Emily Snowden https://snowdenswimschool.com
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