May 20th of this year marked the 6th annual National Swim Day. Starting next week all three of my kids will be enjoying the pool at summer camp but my youngest, who is turning five in the fall, isn’t swimming yet. He’s at an age where he can certainly begin to learn the basics of swimming but first and foremost, I need to make sure he’s completely comfortable being in the water. SwimWays, an award-winning brand, has been helping kids learn to swim for over 50 years.SwimWays Products Encourage Kids to Learn to Swim and Love the Water
Swimming is not only crucial for survival (because you never know what situation you could potentially get into, even on a simple boat ride, for example.
But swimming is also a social thing for kids. At summer camp, if they don’t pass the swim test they can’t go to the deep water in the pool with their friends and I don’t want my kids to be isolated or bored. Having my kids learn this basic life skill is important to me as a parent.
SwimWays has a variety of products divided into three steps (1, 2, and 3) with Swim Step 1 products appropriate for infants, Swim Step 2 products for young toddlers and Swim Step 3 products for toddlers and kids up to age 9. I recently received a Swim Sweater from SwimWays, which is a Swim Step 2 product. As mentioned, my son is 4 and the Swim Sweater is perfect for him as he learns to support himself by learning to balance himself and to paddle. The Swim Sweater was introduced 50 years ago and has a circular design that goes around the torso and provides stability. There are two positions (upward and forward stroke) as well as 50+ UPF fabric for extra sun protection.
We used the Swim Sweater in my sister-in-law’s pool and my son loved having it on. I feel very secure having him wear it and definitely felt safer, although I was obviously watching him the entire time (it’s not a life-saving device). My son seemed very comfortable and confident wearing it and was even able to move on his own without being held, which I was very proud of. Even when everyone got out of the pool to eat he was happy to stay in the water, just hanging out in his Swim Sweater. I think wearing it made him feel safe and secure and enabled him to enjoy just being in the water.
While water safety and preventing drowning is the number one priority, sun safety is also crucial and the Swim Sweater has you covered, both literally and figuratively. At the end of the day in the water, although I applied and re-applied sunblock, his arms were red. But everything else was fine – his shoulders and chest area did not get any color due to the 50+ UPF protection of the material.
Another great product that helps with balance and with floating is the Swim Vest. It’s also for kids ages 2-4 and features a front zipper with a safety closure on top plus 50+ UPF sun protection.
We’ve been spending time at various pools, such as the town park and friends and families’ home pools so I feel like he’s getting pretty comfortable in the water. We have all summer to have opportunities to be in water and I’m hoping he will start swimming lessons sooner rather than later. To prepare for that, SwimWays has a Swim Step 3 product that that can ease kids into swimming – Power Swimr.
This is for kids ages 3-6 who are ready to start floating in preparation for learning strokes. It gradually helps your child gain more and more confidence as he floats due to 9 individual removable floats inside the Power Swimr. You can gradually take out the layers, one at a time, until your child is confident without them. But until he is ready, he is protected by the side cords which allow for a snug fit. My son had so much fun practicing swimming with Daddy at our recent trip to a water park. He loved being like the big kids!
This is one of the 9 removable floats:
You can purchase SwimWays products at your nearest Toys R Us store, or at Toys R Us online.
Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for fourteen years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 10, 8 and 4) and loves finding great products that make her family’s life easier. S
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