08/09/2026
I know I am going to ruffle some feathers with this post… But please, parents, I beg you— please say no to puddle jumpers. I promise you, as a highly trained swim instructor, I can tell you within 10 seconds of your child being in the pool with me if they’ve been in a puddle jumper.
Here’s how I know:
1. The child kicks in a vertical, upright position (which is the drowning position) & they absolutely fight me when I support them in a horizontal position (the correct swimming posture) because they have created poor muscle memory in the puddle jumper. These kids kicks often look like riding a bicycle in the water.
2. They have a false sense of security in the water (fearless when they jump) because they’re used to the puddle jumper holding them up & think they can swim without help.
**Most drownings happen during non-swim times, so if they have created a security & you combine that with poor muscle memory with the puddle jumper, then when they accidentally fall in without it on, they have no idea what to do and now they’re naturally going to be in the vertical position, as that’s all they know how to do.
3. They fight me HARD when learning to back float because that position feels scary when you’re used to being vertical (I) in the water all the time instead of horizontal (—) in the water.
As a mom who used puddle jumpers with my first child (who was reckless around water as a toddler) & chose not to with my second child (who has a healthy respect for the water), if I could do it all over again knowing what I know now, I never would have put my first child in one. I can not tell you how many times I had to jump into the pool & grab him as a toddler because he would run toward water and jump right in— I’m thankful there was no tragedy involved with him being so reckless. I wish someone would have posted about or told me about how unsafe they are for kids. I am posting about this because I honestly care so much about your children & their water safety!
I also absolutely understand a parent being outnumbered in the pool, but the best gift you can give your child is being in the water with them/having another adult come with for extra hands and allowing them to feel what their own body feels like in the water without any floaties. The second best gift you can give them is enrolling them in some type of swim lessons with instructors who also don’t use puddle jumpers to teach them.
*Pᴇᴇʀ－ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡᴇᴅ ᴀǫᴜᴀᴛɪᴄ ʀᴇsᴇᴀʀᴄʜ, ᴘᴇᴅɪᴀᴛʀɪᴄ ɢᴜɪᴅᴇʟɪɴᴇs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ sᴀꜰᴇᴛʏ ᴏʀɢᴀɴɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴs ᴜɴɪꜰᴏʀᴍʟʏ ᴡᴀʀɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘᴜᴅᴅʟᴇ ᴊᴜᴍᴘᴇʀs ᴄᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴀsᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ－ᴛᴇʀᴍ ᴅʀᴏᴡɴɪɴɢ ʀɪsᴋs*
**𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑟：𝐼 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦．𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑚𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛．
