With summer on its way, families are already making plans for the holidays, looking into the ideal destinations and resorts. As the seaside or the pool are usually part of summer trips, this is also the time when you should be preparing your kids.

While signing them up for some swim lessons is the best thing you can do for their safety, it’s your job to make sure they feel at ease and relaxed when they’re in the water. Only when they feel completely fine in water will they be ready to learn this crucial to keep them safe from the dangers of drowning. It’s also your job to acquire useful kids’ swim accessories to help them on their swimming journey, and I’m not just talking about goggles and adequate swimwear.

What is the Best Swimming Aid for Children?

The right answer to this crucial question depends on the child’s age, and the physical strength they’re in to best keep them floating, upright and comfortable in the water while keeping their heads above it. With this in mind, the range of accessories you can choose for a child’s age are:

For Babies and Infants

From 0 to 2-year-olds, children need all the support they can get, so the kids’ swim accessories differ from those meant for children aged 3 and above. This is where it’s important to let them enjoy being in the water, sitting on comfortable baby floats with canopies fit for adequate sun protection.

There are some designs with inflatable seats that allow them to have their feet in the water, keeping them safe while at the same time providing them with a bit of water fun and refreshment. The arm bands and swim rings are suitable for children of 3 months, as long as you buy adequate designs, but they’re best used with children aged 1 and 2 as they give them the needed buoyancy and support as well as freedom to do some swimming on their own (with your supervision, of course).

For Toddlers

Children aged 2 to 4 already have the bodily coordination they need to have the right support in the water, and they can learn a bit of the proper swimming techniques with armbands and swim rings, as they give them plenty of flexibility to be mobile in the water. This is also where you can introduce them to swim vests as they’re wearable floatation devices that are easily put on without the risk of coming off or causing discomfort during the swim. And, moreover, they help keep the kids in the natural swimming position once they find their balance.

For Children Aged 4 to 6

At this point in life, children from 4 to 6 have already mastered crucial motor skills, so they have the coordination, endurance, and strength needed for play, including play in the water. Even so, they could still do with help from kids’ swimming accessories to give them that confidence they need to swim in the water on their own.

In addition to the ones I’ve already covered, such as arm bands and swim rings, you can introduce them to some other cool and handy aids like swim belts and kickboards. The belts, as you might guess, go to the waist, and there are different options available depending on how much support your child needs, whereas the kickboards are foam boards your child can hold onto while swimming.

Generally, these are more suitable for children who are already confident in being in the water, and swimming. If your child isn’t fond of the belt, or the board, there’s one more aid you could try out which is the back bubble added to the back. This allows your child to use the arms all the way through to do the swimming techniques properly, unlike in the case with the board, for example.

For Children Aged 6 and Above

At this point, some children already know how to swim well enough on their own, without requiring any kind of support from accessories, but it’s still useful to have some around for when they get tired from all the water fun. The swim rings, kickboards, and swim belts can all be helpful, as can swim fins, pull buoys, and noodle floats.

These swimming pool accessories for kids can be helpful with assisting them in working on certain techniques and skills, too, allowing them to perfect their swimming to the desired level. However, if by any chance your child still hasn’t learned how to swim by 6, it’s never too late to learn, so don’t lose hope – or your patience. Help them build their confidence in the water by allowing them to enjoy being in it, letting them have fun playing some ball games in a small pool before working on swim lessons with a focus on techniques using the aforementioned aids.