Teaching a Toddler to Swim with the SwimWays Swim Sweater

I am going to be honest, when it comes to my children, water terrifies me. Water safety is a big concern of mine and that is why it is important to me that my children all learn how to be good swimmers. The three oldest takes lessons at the lake and I try to reinforce what they learn on our own in the pool. I love the SwimWays Sim Steps line of swim training gear for teaching my boys to swim because they offer a wide range of products for every swimming level.

"The Swim Sweater has a stable, circular torso design that rides high on the child's chest for extra stability. It helps kids learn to paddle and balance in the pool which are important pre-swimming skills."

My 2.5 year old toddler loves going in the lake because he can stand, but the pool is another story. He likes being held in the water, but he will freak out if you let go. Which is understandable as this is still new to him. A few weeks ago we had him suit up in this SwimWays Swim Sweater to try to get him to feel more comfortable in the water. This product brings back fond memories to me as I had a similar type of thing when i was his age. Mine was all red with the same type inner tube and I remember floating about the pool for hours in it.

Initially, he wouldn't let me put him down into the water at all. So I carried him around and let his feet dangle in for a little while. Once he got acclimated to that, I was able to get him down into the water, with minimal complaints. I held onto his hands and pulled him around for quite some time. This was a huge first for him so I wanted to take my time. I find letting them go at their own pace, especially with something like water which can be scary for them, is your best bet. Forcing them to do something is not going to gain anything.

After a long, long time of me pulling him around in the water, he eventually would allow me to let go for a few seconds. He is obviously a little wobbly in there as he learns to balance himself, and only lasted a few seconds at a time. But I felt like this was a HUGE step for him as only a few hours earlier, he didn't want to be in at all. I am looking forward to the next time we get him in the pool to see how much more he can progress.


 
I am participating in this review as part of the Swimways Swim Steps Swim Team. Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and/or company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. I received free product to review.

Help Give the Gift of a Smile

I am excited to say that I am once again part of the SwimWays Swim Team and this summer I will be discussing water safety (so important!) and sharing our children's progress as they learn to swim. While I already knew that SwimWays Swim Steps line has awesome products, I just learned that a portion of every Swim Steps sale goes to Operation Smile. Operation Smile is an international charity that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children worldwide. To date, SwimWays has donated over 3,000 operations to children worldwide.

This April, SwimWays will be donating $2 for every new "Like" on the Operation Smiles Facebook Page - for up to $50,000. As little as $240 can help provide a cleft lip or cleft palate surgery for a child. If they can get $25,000 and donate all of the $50,000 - that is a while lot of new smiles for kids! As a thank you, everyone who "Likes" the page will receive a discount code for 20% off a SwimWays product. So please, head on over today and take just one moment to help give a child the gift of a smile.

SwimWays End of Summer Sale

Summer is winding down and kids across the country are heading back to school. Maybe you live in a warmer climate where you can swim year round or maybe you are in an area like me and you have only a few weeks left of pool time. Either way, you can stock up on some great SwimWays gear and toys at their end of summer sale! All items in their online store are 20% to 70% off. That includes pool toys, pool games, pool floats, pool decorations, swim training gear and more!

Maybe next year you think your little swimmer will move up to Swim Steps 3 - well you can buy the Swim Vest for $24.95 and be ready to go when the warm weather hits in 2012. Want to grab some fun pool toys for the kids to play with?  My boys love the Rainbow Reef Fish and there is also a Rainbow Reef Turtle. There are also plenty of underwater diving toys and hoops for the more advanced swimmers.

Or maybe mom and dad need a float to sit and relax in while in the pool with the family. My personal favorite is the Spring Float Recliner. This pool float open and folds up easily, inflates and deflates quickly and is equipped with a backrest, headrest, cup holder and ottoman so that you can relax in comfort. What better way to enjoy the cool water and warm sun than leaning back on this float with your drink there with you. (Remember, don't drink alcohol when swimming- its dangerous!)

The SwimWays End of Summer Sale is running from August 20 through September 5 so be sure to head over their soon and check it out. Spend $100 and you will also receive free shipping.

As a Swim Team Ambassador, I received free products for my family to use this summer. The opinions and views expressed in this post are my own.

SwimWays Swim Steps Swimmies Review & Giveaway

It is summer. It is hot. Since we don't have central air conditioning we have to find other ways to cool off. We have been spending a lot of time at our local lake so far which has been fun and exhausting. We have also been able to visit some family pools as well which is a nice change of pace from the crowds.

Our three older boys are in swim lessons at the lake and we have been using the SwimWays Swim Steps gear to help them out in the pool. For my six year old who has taken multiple swim lessons in the past, I chose Step 4 for him. He does really well in the lake or shallow pool where he can stand, but in deeper pools he still needs help. On Father's Day we visited grandpa and broke out the FishBites Soft Swimmies for the first time. You may be familiar with traditional swimmies that are vinyl and can be such a pain to get on and off your child's arm. You have to make sure you wet their arm just right so that they don't get plastic burn from you ripping the darn things off of them. What is awesome about these swimmies from SwimWays is that they are covered in a layer of fabric. Let me tell you, these were so easy to slide on and absolutely no skin graphs were needed afterwords. And my son loves the sharks on them.

Children who can swim on their own often need a little extra support as they refine their swimming abilities. Swim Step 4 products like our fun Swimmies with fish and Disney graphics, and our silly Fishkicks kickboard with its googly eye, are designed to combine comfortable support and freedom of movement, giving kids the confidence to master swimming skills.

A Note On Water Safety
As I sit here writing this post with the news on in the background, I have watched two reports of water related accidents that happened in the last 24 hours alone in my state. A teenage boy swimming in a lake went under and was not seen again and a four year old was playing unsupervised in their backyard and was found at the bottom of the pool. They are still searching for the teenager's body and the little boy is in ICU - hopefully on his way to recovering. My point is as fun as the water is, it is also dangerous! It is so important to take the proper precautions when you are in and around water. If you have a pool in your yard, make sure your kids can't get in there. Children should be supervised in and near water at all times - having a floating device like a vest or swimmies does not mean you can leave them alone. Please, please be safe as you stay cool this summer!

SwimWays Swim Steps Twitter Party
Join us on Thursday, July 14 at 9:00pm EST for a discussion on the Swim Steps program as well as water safety. SwimWays will also be giving away over $250 in prizes during the Twitter party. To participate you need to follow @SwimWays and use the hashtag #SwimSteps when tweeting. You can follow along easily here: http://bit.ly/pd8ptI.

Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive their choice of FishKicks Kickboard or FishBites Swimmies.

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Leave a comment sharing a water safety tip with me.

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This giveaway is open to legal US residents 18+ only and will end on Tuesday, July 26 at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and will be posted on the Winner's Announcement Page. Winner has 48 hours to claim his/her prize otherwise a new winner will be picked. Please leave your e-mail address in all of your comment(s) so I can contact you. I will not share your e-mail address with anyone, it will strictly be used to notify you if you win. Good luck!

As a Swim Team Ambassador, I received free products for my family to use this summer. The opinions and views expressed in this post are my own. SwimWays is providing the product for this giveaway.

Learning to Swim with SwimWays Swim Steps

Are you ready to pull on your bathing suit and get into the water with your kids this summer? Well I am not - my body certainly is NOT in bathing suit form. This is one of the reasons why I started the 20 Second Fitness Program recently. I need to get in better shape so I don't frighten myself and others when I hit the beaches later this summer. We have got a lot of swimming planned for and I want to feel comfortable out there.

On the other hand, my boys are all ready to get their swim on! We have 2 weeks left of school and then on June 27, three of them will be starting swim lessons at our local lake. The little guy is too young for this swim program but we plan on having lots of fun splashing in the water as well. Last week I received a huge package from the SwimWays Swim Steps line with lots of goodies to help with swim training this summer.

Pictured: Rainbow Reef Fish, Swim Vest, FishKicks Kickboard, COOP WetBall
Baby Spring Float Activity Center w/ Canopy, Swim Shorty, Fishbites Soft Swimmies

The SwimWays Swim Steps product line has a variety of swim training products over four different levels of swimming skill to help your child learn how to swim.

Swim Step 1 = First Time in the Pool (Babies)
Swim Step 2 = Ready to Paddle & Splash (Toddlers)
Swim Step 3 = Teach me to Swim
Swim Step 4 = I Can Do it!

Our Swim Steps program is specially designed and proven to help kids gradually gain confidence in the water. By making swimming exciting, safe and rewarding, SwimWays points the way toward a lifetime of splish-splashing fun!

For our six year old, he has had two Springs and Summers of swim lessons in the past at his old preschool. So this will be his third year of lessons, but first at the lake. I felt that he was at the Swim Steps Level 4 and so he will get to try out the kickboard and swimmies. For the twins (four years old) I thought that Level 2 was a good place for them to start with the Swim Vest and Swim Shorty. This will be their first experience with swim lessons and I am excited to see how they do! Of course we will start the little guy off at Level 1.

Not only will we be spending lots of time at the lake, but I also plan on doing some pool hopping. We do not own a pool but we have three family members that do which means three pools we can play in this summer. Hopefully our family doesn't mind us stopping by. As a Swim Team Ambassador you will find several posts throughout the summer about how my boys are using and enjoying their SwimWays gear. So be sure to stop back and follow us on our swimming journey!

As a Swim Team Ambassador, I received free products for my family to use this summer. The opinions and views expressed in this post are my own.