As we have already mentioned, among the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, Social Affairs and Equality, is the avoidance of inflatable floats when children don't know how to swim.
Nor will we trust the sleeves, because they can be a danger to the little ones. According to experts they are not safe options, and also they are not useful for one of the objectives that are intended: Learn to swim. Instead we must promote the use of cork churros, which they allow a lot of mobility, and help the child to develop in the water. This system allows the ends to be joined by a connector, thus forming a circle that facilitates the placement of small children.
We would also help the belts with boards, corks and life jackets that allow flotation and also enable a wide range of movements because they facilitate balance.
There are other ways to ensure safe support in the water, although perhaps not as well known:
Swimsuits with integrated floats, which allow adding and removing corks according to the evolution of our children's swimming ability.
Polystyrene sleeves with several discs, these are not punctured, and the difficulty can be graduated by adding or removing them.
Why muffs and floats are not safe
First of all because the feeling of 'false security' that they generate (in the parents), can lead to carelessness, and these to distractions that lead to not realizing a dangerous situation like the one that occurs when the float turns around and the child is submerged upside down.
Neither floats nor sleeves are safe because they can easily puncture. And if we want another good reason not to trust them, they greatly limit the movement of children's arms, and do not facilitate swimming learning.
Let's remember lastly that the children even if they wear a flotation system that we consider optimal, or even if they know how to swimThey should not be left unattended when they bathe in the pool or on the beach.
Images | Gail Frederick, Mark Hillary, Joe Mazzola, Via | HEADLIGHTS of the Hospitan Sant Joan de Déu En Peques y Más | Puddle Jumper is a breakthrough in floats for children
