The Best Infant Pool Floats for Swimming
If you're ready to introduce your baby to swimming, ensure you're fully prepared with a safe pool float. Recognizing the inherent risks, ensuring full presence alongside a flotation device can allow for a safe introduction to the water. Remember - pool floats are not a substitute for parental supervision!
The "best" infant pool float depends on your child's needs, age, water experience, and your own preferences. With lots of different options available, from simple donuts to sunshade pool floats, let’s simplify your choice by breaking down styles and features to help you make the best decision for your little one!
How Safe are Infant Pool Floats?
Many parents wonder if pool floats are safe. In good condition, most pool floats are acceptable to use, but are not considered life saving devices. That is why it’s critical that all younger children are under careful adult supervision, always maintaining an arm’s length distance while in the water. Some of the natural risks that come along with infant floats include deflating or tipping over. It is also best to avoid baby neck floats! According to the FDA, neck floats represent a potential hazard and can cause serious injuries to your baby’s neck.
While swim floats don’t replace the need for adult supervision at any age, they can be a great accessory to fun in the pool!
Important Features to Look for:
- Sun Protection Canopy – It’s always recommended to keep babies and infants out of direct sunlight due to their delicate skin. Luckily, many of the best infant swim floats come with a shaded canopy that keeps your child covered. While it’s still important to apply baby sunscreen, having a shaded cover is one of the highlight features of baby swim floats like these.
- Find the Right Size – Infant swim floats are usually designed for specific age groups. Always follow the recommended age and weight when buying a swim float for your little one. Your child should feel snug in the float’s seat!
- Safety Features – All swim floats are designed differently, which means they will come equipped with different safety features. Consider things like seat straps, extra-wide designs (for increased stability), bright colors (for increased visibility) and reinforced seams, all of which make a difference for safety ratings and durability.
Some of our favorite pool floats for infants:
This float is incredibly stable thanks to its dual inflatable rings and “inner spring” supported base. Not to mention, it includes a protective sun canopy and playful octopus with toys on each tentacle. The recommended age group ranges from 9 to 24 months and is a fantastic choice for introducing your young child to the water. We find this to be one of the best pool floats for 18-month-olds, because of the sunshade and toys.
The Intex My Baby Float is an excellent, budget-friendly choice with safety features perfect for your little one. Designed for indoor pools, where the sun is not a concern, this float offers remarkable stability. Its two inflatable rings nested within each other provide added security, keeping your child upright. It is suitable for most babies, being particularly ideal for ages 1-2 years and has a weight limit of 33 lbs. Your little swimmer will enjoy a secure and delightful time in the water!
This baby float features buoyant "Pearl-Foam," eliminating the need for inflation. It offers two secure positions: babies can float on their back, while older infants can lie on their stomach and use their legs in the water. The removable sunshade adds extra protection. Highly durable, it is suitable for babies aged 3 months to 2 years old.
These are just a few options for the safest infant pool floats, each offering unique features to further support your child's safety and enjoyment in the water. Remember, the most important thing is being within an arm's length away from your child.
Now that you have some insightful information in the best infant flotation device, from features to look for to the different options in the market, you are ready to choose the best infant pool float for your child! It is important to remember, too, that pool floats are not life saving devices, so it is still necessary to always be next to your little one during your time at the pool. After adapting to the water, the next step might be enrolling your baby in a baby swim school, helps build foundational water safety skills. At Big Blue Swim School, we offer swim lessons for children as young as 3 months old. Our goal is to educate and train your children for a lifetime of water safety, so they can eventually leave their swim float in the past!
