STEARNS Original Puddle Jumper Kids Life Jacket, Comfortable Life Vest for Kids Weighing 30-50lbs, USCG Approved Type III Life Vest for Pool, Beach, Boats, & More

Very cute and it works great. I much prefer these to traditional life jackets. Unlike life jackets, they don't slide up to the child's chin or make it difficult for them to swim. The puddle jumper makes it easy for kids to practice swimming and give them freedom in the pool. I love them and will continue to use them for my kids.

Update July 2018:Two years later and we are still using this thing. We've been using it on almost a weekly and sometimes twice or three times a week schedule and this thing is still in great condition. My almost three year old can swim with confidence in this and it's allowed him to feel comfortable getting his head wet. Just about the only downside is that he often prefers using this to going without it, which as he approaches three years old, we'd like to get him more experience in learning how to swim and survive without it. Be that as it may, I couldn't recommend this highly enough!My son is a little on the big side at ~22# at nearly 11 months old. He's been swimming since he was 5 months, and has really grown quite independent in the water! But not having any floatation device for him, I have to hold him if we are in too deep. I was looking for something that would fit him easily now and for awhile to come, and give him the independence he's been craving as he constantly tries to jump out of my arms in the pool to explore on his own.I looked at several options - a life vest, the "tube", and this. Floatation helpers under the 30# range seem to be limited to actual floaration devices with neck support, which isn't really appropriate for a pool setting where I never leave my baby's side. So, I ordered this, knowing it could be a little large for him still.AND IT'S PERFECT! My son had no adjustment to this product, and loved it! He dives right in, and is able to swim short distances with it on! Will work perfectly for the beach setting next summer when we go back home to MI! This product allows my son to freely play in the shallow kid area at our pool where it's an incline into deeper water like a beach without me having a pit of anxiety of a stomach, even though I'm right there, as he crawls into deeper water.I will say that the middle part tends to ride up a bit on him a bit, so when he's in deeper water floating without support his chin is kept just above the water, but he sometimes swallows pool water when there's lots of waves/splashing from nearby. This is something that will get better in time with him growing into the product.Overall, I'm pretty excited about this product and so is my son! Believe the hype on this one and just go for it, especially if you're looking for options for fun floating for the under 30 pound but almost there crowd. We ordered the blue starfish and it's beautiful and bright!

My 4 yo (40lb) and 15 mo (28lb) both have Puddle Jumpers. All other vests and floats just reduce the weight, but provide no control for positioning -- not for the kids, not for you trying to hold them in non-drowning/swimming position. All other floats were a struggle of one kind or another. I would be exhausted just trying to keep my 15mo from drowning, even though he was wearing a life-preserver. For my 4yo, she could kind of deal with the difficulties of most floaties/preservers, but swimming was more tiring and stressful than fun -- she'd ditch swimming and go to the splash pad area after just five or ten minutes. Now, she's finally comfortable and can move around without help or periodically dunking herself as she doggy paddles -- she'll swim half an hour before wanting to go splash around. Within minutes of first having the Puddle Jumper on, my 15mo figured out how to keep his head up out of the water and from that point he was shockingly able to be semi-independent... in a floating around and awkwardly kicking sort of way. He was insanely happy to not have me holding him all the time and, frankly, so was I. Of course, for very young kids, you have to still be there and usually have a hand on them most of the time for overall safety and move them around, but the burden of it is gone. The Puddle Jumper almost keeps them in the right position to paddle around and holds up their weight effortlessly. Material and construction seem durable, buckle is firm but pretty easily adjusted (only one and in the back), and it doesn't shift around (up, down, or to the sides) like so many other vest floaties do.Downsides: The sleeves might be tight for some kids -- dry sleeves and sunblock or any oil/lotion applied immediately before sliding on helps (wet sleeves are really difficult, so don't take it off after getting wet unless you're pretty sure about it staying off). Also, they kind of hold water for a while... Like a half cup or somewhat more. Takes them about 20 minutes to mostly drain; they'll still be damp or harbor a small pocket of water still. So, make sure you have time to drain or a watertight bag to put them in for transport. Also, the only swimming that can be taught are pretty much just doggy paddle and floating on one's back, but most kids will be too young to do anything else anyway.