Life vests for little children

1,000% agree. I was taught to swim at an early age - way before the “water babies” classes that are readily available. I asked for and was happily given every swimming class, life guard class (and certification to twirl whistles! :wink: ), and join what passed for our little swim team.

I don’t understand parents who let small children wade in ponds at Disney (my heart breaks for that family) and people who turn their backs “just for a minute.” I grew up with parents who partied, but every hour one parent stopped partying and then the next hour they were up to supervise the pool swarming with us kids. It was a great system and we got to play with all the adults and had a blast. And sticking faces in devices… don’t get me started!!

Don’t apologize. I’m right there with you. Sports and outdoor activities are important and so is learning safely and responsibly.

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I have installed top locks on all the doors and have ordered life vests for kids infant up to 90 lbs. I understand everyone’s concern and I thank you for your input. Hopefully this will be a place where families can get together and have a great time.

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I addition to posting signs I will also have first aid kits for when they ultimately ignore the signs.

There was a book I had when my youngest daughter was a baby- it was a program developed by a swim instructor in California, Danuta Rylko, and was awsome. The book is called Watersafe Your Baby and is still available. It doesn’t teach them to swim- it is a series of specific moves done with the baby for about 20 minutes every day over a week-long period, which requires one adult for the first couple of days and 2 after that. What it trains the baby to do is to immediately roll onto their back if they fall in the water, where they can float for a long time. It is best to do when the baby is quite young- 4 months is the minimum age, as when they get older, they can get freaked out and protest. It isn’t teaching them to swim- it is training their bodies to do something without thought that would save their lives.
It isn’t somethng that can be done in a class- there shouldn’t be any distractions.
I did it with my youngest when she was 6 months old and it was amazing. It should be something that is required for anyone who has pools and babies.

Honestly, it sounds awesome! Don’t let all the gloom and doom get to you. It is totally normal to have a pool! And an indoor pool is quite the amenity - I would book your place for that alone. Life vests seem like overkill (and not normal for a pool). I doubt anyone is going to put a life vest on their kid for the pool, but floaties would surely be appreciated. Now, if they are planning on arriving by car (or mom has an oxy problem)…then you can get the helmets out :wink:

It absolutely should, and especially in South Florida where there are so many pools and rivers and lakes and the ocean. Although it would be great if it was everywhere. When I lived in England, it could be difficult to be motivated to take a baby to the swimming baths when it’s cold and raining but it’s so essential.

Watersafe your Baby sounds wonderful. Thank you @muddy for letting us all know about it. A lifesaver.

And just in case anyone is interested, the book is only five dollars at Amazon > https://amzn.to/2uWHhOY