Teaching Toddlers to Swim

Question
Hi Kate,

I have a 25 month old daughter who is very confident swimming with her armbands on, and can jump in the pool happily and put her face in the water etc.
I was wondering if it was realistic to try to get rid of the armbands slowly at this age or if I should wait.
Could you tell me how to go about removing the armbands? She is happily swimming at the moment with the smallest armbands I could find (therefore the least buoyant) but doesn't move her arms yet, just her legs but I believe that is because the armbands are restrictive as much as anything.
She loves the water and I am careful not to push her beyond her comfort level.
Thankyou very much,
Clare Davidson

Answer
Hi Clare,

First of all great job with your daughter.  I too have a son who is of toddler age (22 months).  I avoided arm bands because of the restriction that they place upon the littles.  However, I do have a friend who did not and now she is facing a similar situation.  Obviously ideally is to avoid them but now that your daughter is comfortable in the water with them it is time to try to take them away.  Please be advised that a child who can swim with arm bands usually cannot float on their own.  Begin slowly. Take them off and play some games in the water.  Let her get used to the idea of having them off.  Bring her to a shallow area and let her experiement with touching the ground and jumping around.  She really is small still so be slow in your expectations with floating.  Try holding her hands and let her feel come out and then let her put her face in the water. Where she can touch.  After she is comfortable with that then gradually begin to hold her by the waist and let her feel the water bouyancy.  Eventually she will more then likely become comfortable and with time and practice you can begin to let your arms drop lower and lower until she floats.  Be ready to pick her up quickly though until you work on holding her breath.  Good luck and I think you have done a great job so far with her in the water.  Keep up the good work!
Kate