Swimming aids and swim nappies: full test results

Kooshies swim nappy

Price: around £7.99

What you get: Velcro and tie fastenings on shaped nappy-style pants with waterproof nylon outer shell, towelling gusset and breathable vented nylon inner lining.

Stockists:0870 607 0545, or visit www.thebabycatalogue.com

Why you’d want it: These are great if you really do have a serious accident because
they unwrap just like a normal nappy so it is all very easy to clean up. They
are also practical and comfy.

Parents’ comments:

Highly adjustable with Velcro fastening and ties around the waist
Knotting the ties tightly helped ensure my son couldn’t take the nappy off which was a big bonus as he has streaker tendencies!
The true nappy style made this really easy to remove cleanly and change if a serious accident occurred – you just lie the baby down and remove like a normal disposable nappy
Towelling gusset was soft on the baby and does have a little bit of absorbency too
Machine washable so very practical

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Bambino Mio swim nappy

Price: around £7

What you get: Unisex pants with elasticated leg and waistband, plus adjustable
waist draw-string. Waterproof polyester outer, cotton blend internal lining.

Stockists:
01604 883777, or visit www.bambino.co.uk

Why you’d want it: Good for secure protection at leg and waistband and comfy
for baby.

Parents’ comments:

Good firm elastication to hold in accidents
Draw-string waist adds further security and ensures a really good fit
Internal layer is a cotton-blend and although not massively absorbent it is much softer on the baby’s skin than a pure plastic pants style liner
Machine washable which is handy if you do have a big disaster to deal with.

This kind of pants-style is pretty tricky to deal with if a serious poo has occurred!
Almost impossible to remove cleanly and without the need for a major hose down
afterwards!

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i-Play swim nappy

Price: £5.99

What
you get: Boy or girl swim pants or boy swim shorts with elasticated waistband
and legs, with cotton outer and waterproof coated nylon inside.

Stockists:0800 038 8889, or visit www.babiesrus.co.uk

Why you’d want it: These do the job and look funky for a fair price.

Parents’ comments:

Really cute to look at – especially loved the funky boy’s shorts!
Simple design with effective elastic around legs and waist to hold accidents in
Fairly priced

Waterproof inner protects the pool well but not so nice for baby – everything
is held against the skin, nothing is absorbed at all – just like wearing a pair
of plastic pants
Hand wash only so not so quick and easy to clean up after
an accident

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Golden Coast Spring float

Price:
around £16

What you get: Two inflatable rings – an inner one which surrounds the baby’s body and contains a mesh seat in which the baby sits and an outer ring which adds stability and has an integral spring support which makes it quick and easy to open and compact when stowed. The two rings are joined by a vented nylon fabric mesh. Includes a mesh carry bag. Suitable from 9 months to 2 years.

Stockists:01271 378100, or visit www.goldenc.com

Why you’d want it: This design is very stable in the water with the minimum of
fuss to use. It is very compact when packed away but springs out to a good size.
The mesh fabric between the rings means the baby has plenty of contact with the
water all around and although they are in a seat the mesh fabric means they probably
hardly know it’s there.

Parents’ comments:

This is a great design which I hadn’t seen the like of before and it worked really
well Quick and easy to inflate and deflate, dries off really quickly and folds
very compactly into a useful carry bag
The double ring design made this very stable but also meant that my son was protected a little from his boisterous brothers – they were kept at arms length!
The meshing between the rings lets lots of water through so my son could splash around with his hands as well as having his legs and body well immersed. It is very light so even a little bit of kicking did get him moving which he thought was great

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Kooshies Baby A Float

Price: around
£9.95

What you get: Inflatable swim seat with back rest and extended stabiliser/arm-rests. PVC with anti-leak safety valves. Suitable from 3 months.

Stockists:0870 607 0545, or visit www.thebabycatalogue.com

Why you’d want it: This is an excellent early swimming aid perfect for encouraging
water confidence from a very safe position. Your baby won’t actually learn to
swim while in this but will develop that critical water confidence which makes
learning to swim later so much easier. The baby can be very much a part of a family
swimming expedition with other siblings bobbing about around the baby without
causing a hazard.

Parents’ comments:

Extremely stable in the water – the long stabiliser arm-rests and the inflation
behind and in front all help to keep the seat very controlled even when other
kids are bouncing about nearby making a bit of wave – I never felt there was ever
any risk of the seat tipping over. The seat back also means that if the baby does
decide to throw themselves backwards, arching their back – there is no where for
them to go – still no chance of tipping over
The seat is quite deep so my daughter was very snugly held in place and seemed to feel as secure as when I was holding her – if not more so.

The safety values are very safe – no chance of air accidentally leaking out, but also
very difficult to inflate and deflate as a result! There is a definite technique
to it – it took me a while to master it and I was very red in the face!
There is a lot of seat surrounding the baby – although her legs and arms were very much in the water it was pretty hard for her to reach much of the water with her hands to have a good splash about.

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BemaCharacter Armbands

Price: around £4.99

What you get: : Inflatable arm bands in two sizes – 0-15months
or 1-6 years with character detail – Action Man, Barbie, Thomas the Tank Engine
or Bob the Builder. Comprises two inflatable vinyl chambers with safety values
and flat strap under the arm for comfort and mobility.

Stockists:
tel :0800 038 8889 or visit www.toysrus.co.uk

Why you’d want it: A very cheap and cheerful way
to introduce your baby to early swimming. You need to give them time to get used
to the feel of the water all around them with you very close by but is amazing
how quickly they will be able to bob about independently and they then soon realise
how kicking will make them move.

Parents’ comments:

Very quick and easy to inflate

The flat strap under the arm means these seemed more comfy than those who chambers inflate all the way around

With armbands you really do feel your baby is learning to swim right from the
start but you need to hold them around the tummy and hold their hands a lot so
they feel secure and get used to the bobbing about sensation first before they
go it alone for short periods

My daughter has always loved the water – even
on her face – so she didn’t mind the odd splash or mouthful of water as she got
used to her position in the water and how to control her body with the armbands
on, but it might have been a bit off putting for a baby less confident in water.

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Konfidence jacket

Price: around
£26.95

What you get: Neoprene swim jacket with eight
removable floats so you can adjust the level of flotation as swimming ability
increases. Three sizes suitable from 2-3 yrs, 4-5 yrs and 6-7 yrs.

Stockists:01566
777720 or visit www.konfidence.com

Why you’d want it: Simple to use, effective in the water and useful for reducing
dependency on floats.

Parents’ comments:

Very bright – we tried it at the beach and it helped us keep sight of our son at all
times – it also kept him covered so protected from the sun
The packaging says this helps develop correct swimming technique – it took my son a little while to feel happy leaning forward but the jacket did seem to help him once he was willing to give it a try
We have had problems with these kind of vests before because our son kept trying to take it off. This one was made of very soft and stretchy fabric so it seemed comfy to wear. He even try to take it off but if he had the tough chunky zip with Velcro lock made it difficult for him to do so without help
Simple to remove and replace the floats

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Swim Ways Swim Sweater

Price: £18.45

What you get: : Inflatable heavy duty rubber ring contained within a soft, stretch
nylon fabric cover which has an integral vest top which holds the ring in place.
Suitable from age 2-4.

Stockists: Call 01271 378100, or visit
www.goldenc.com

Why you’d want it: This is a traditional rubber ring with a vest top twist which
helps make sure it stays on safely at all times. Very user friendly and good for
practising early floating upright and leaning forward and paddling techniques.

Parents’ comments:

A compact snug fitting and robust rubber ring which I felt very confident using.
The fabric covering over the ring means there is not risk of chaffing or scratches
as we have experienced with other rings
The vest style means that even if your toddler is in and out of the pool the ring stays in position – others we have used just drop to the floor and you worry the toddler will trip or just abandon the ring – with this it sticks with them whatever they do. Excellent size – one of the smallest rubber rings I have ever seen but being compact it is much more manageable for the child and easier for them to have a go at swimming technique without falling our or loosing control of the ring

Quick and easy to inflate but you do need a pump – you can’t do it with your mouth so a bit of a disaster if you forget to pack the pump!

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Safe T Seal Little Swimmer flotation pads

Price: around £19

What you get: Nine large float pads that fit together in two groups within two stretch fabric pockets that fit on the front and back of the child’s body in a highly adjustable vest style unit secured at sides and between legs. Suitable aged 2-3. .

Stockists:
tel 01271 378100, or visit www.goldenc.com

Why you’d want it: Excellent for once your child is really ready to learn to
swim – the style and versatility mean they can quickly reduce their dependency
on the full complement of float without even realising it.

Parents’ comments:

When all float pads are in place this is like strapping two traditional floats to you
child’s front and back and it holds them in the water in the right swimming position,
just as a float or your hand would do.
Definitely a system to encourage independent swimming – we quite quickly removed a several layers of the float – one at a time – with our daughter barely noticing a thing had changed.

It has plenty of good deep padding and snugly fitting fabric so it creates a very cosy newborn pram which evolves into a very substantial pushchair – even without the use of the carrycot unit.

Highly adjustable but a bit complicated to work out and fit correctly at first – there
are adjustable ties at the sides, over the shoulders and a strap between the leg
to stop the floats from riding up – excellent but you do need a bit of patience
to get it all correct and I’d recommend really sussing it out before getting your
child involved at all! This is very supportive but the child does need to
have some water confidence already to get the most out of this.

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Splashabout long-legged float suit

Price: Around £24.95

What you get: : : Long legged swimming costume in soft, stretch UVF protected nylon fabric with 16 removable floats stowed in eight integral pockets around body of the suit. Suitable from aged 2-4.

Stockists: Call 0033 545 625396, or visit www.splashabout.com

Why you’d want it: This looks fun and has good versatility.

Parents’ comments:

Very fun bathing suit design made of very quick drying fabric
The sixteen floats give you lots of versatility. As your child gets more confidence you can either remove some from the back, some from the front, or reduce the number by
half but retain a complete ring right around the body. You can reduce dependency
on the floats in whichever way feels most reassuring to your child.

You do get a swim suit and floats all in one but our daughter didn’t really want to
wear this once she was out of the water because it was all quite bulky around
her body with the floats in and quite baggy without them in.

Not the quickest to get off if your toddler suddenly needs the potty!

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