If you’ve got little ones and a pool, you’ve probably got a drawer full of floaties. They look like safety. But swim school owner Genevieve Blasius says flotation devices train kids to float upright with their hips down and legs kicking like a bicycle, a posture that doesn’t translate to self-rescue swimming. Real survival means flipping onto your back and floating face up, and most swim schools don’t prioritize that difference.
Houston mother Jenny Bennett knows the cost. Her 18-month-old son Jackson wandered through a dog door into the family pool in 2016 and drowned. She later found other parents who lost toddlers the same way, and floaties kept coming up. Here in Suncoast, with backyard pools, canals and Gulf beaches everywhere, the risk is part of daily life. A child under 30 pounds can drown in about 30 seconds. Drowning is the leading cause of death in young children.
Wearable floaties used in pools are regulated as aquatic toys with no mandatory safety standards. Bestway, which licenses Puddle Jumper, says its products meet ANSI, CAN, UL and ISO standards. Blasius wants warning labels and better education from manufacturers and the federal government.
Have you relied on floaties with your kids or grandkids? Did you know about the back-float versus bicycle-kick difference? Share your thoughts in the comments.
