Most of the baby floats out there are pretty similar to one another. They typically have a ring and a seat that the baby can sit in. If they are feeling extra special they might have a canopy included or maybe even some toys. However, this LAYCOL Baby Simming Float with Canopy is not your standard baby float. In fact, this is the first of its kind that I have seen. I’m intrigued with the design; read on to see if you are intrigued by the features like I am.
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Swim Two Ways
I love a product that can be used in more than one way, and the LAYCOL Swimming Float fits the bill.
Backstroke
Your baby can lay on this float two ways, the first of which is on their back. Most baby floats are ones where they sit in it, so it is more conducive for older babies who can sit up a bit more stably. Your baby can use this float from 3 months old since it allows your baby to lie on his or her back.
Now, you might think that your baby would get bored being on his or her back for long periods of time, but as long as you are interactive with your baby, they will likely have a blast. You can bring toys into the pool and play with them as they lay there experiencing the feel of the water and floating. But even if they don’t love the backstroke position, they can also use the other position, which might be a bit more fun.
Breaststroke
According to LAYCOL, your baby can use the breaststroke positions starting at 3 months as well as the backstroke. Your baby should be able to lift his or her head up at this point, but I would honestly feel more comfortable letting my baby lie on his or her back for the first while. Even though your baby can probably keep his or her head up, it can get very exhausting after a while and your baby will likely get fussy.
It is relatively easy to switch between the two positions, so you have two great options available to you.
Safety Buckle
The LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float with Canopy is one of the very few baby floats that comes with a safety buckle. This five-point baby harness will keep your baby from sliding out or tipping over and it will make you feel more safe and secure.
One other thing that I love about the seatbelt is that it is perfect for special needs children who may not have the same healthy fear of water at an older age. It will keep your child safe in the position they need to be in to learn how to paddle around and swim.
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Will It Flip?
If I’m being honest, when I saw that the LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float had a safety buckle, I was immediately concerned about flipping. Of course, if your baby is in the water at this age range, I would hope that parents would be right there next to them, but what makes me feel even more at ease is that the float is virtually unflippable.
What is the reason that a baby float, or any float for that reason, flips? If you think about it, floats usually flip because the person in them leans over and their weight is not distributed evenly across the float.
The LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float will never have this issue because the 5 point harness will always hold your baby in place. They will be unable to reach too far to one side or the other and flip the float.
There is also a fabric that lays underneath your child’s abdomen that will keep him or her at a comfortable and safe position where they can’t flip the float.
Canopy
Of course, there is more than just one danger when it comes to pool safety. Besides drowning, babies and young children are very susceptible to sunburns. Young children are especially at risk because they do not have the complete amount of melanin in their skin as adults have. Melanin protects your skin against the sun’s rays and against burning.
A sunburn is a bummer for anyone, but as I quoted pediatrician Dr. Cindy Gellner in my review of the SwimWays Baby Spring Float, “A sunburn never really causes a third-degree burn or scarring, but you really don’t even want the second-degree burns. Because the more sunburns you have, especially as a child, increases your risk of skin cancer in the damaged area….the damage that causes skin cancer in adults starts in childhood.”
This is why it is so important for children to get the right amount of sun protection. Even some fabrics do not give children complete protection, and children under 6 months should not wear sunscreen. So the canopy that the LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float has is a weight taken off of parent’s shoulders.
The LAYCOL canopy is also removable, so you can still enjoy the sunshine on mildly sunny days or when you are in a shady spot. You can check out how easy it is to remove the canopy and more of the features in this video below.
Sizes
I was surprised by when I started researching the LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float was that it could handle such a wide range of ages. LAYCOL states that it can handle ages 3 months to 36 months. That is basically infant to 3 years of age–which is basically 11 pounds to 48 pounds. How can a well-fitting float handle all these ages? Well, when LAYCOL says it can go from 3 to 36 months, it means that it has sizes that cover all these ages, not that ONE float will handle all these sizes.
So although that isn’t as exciting as a float that will carry your baby from 3 months to 3 years, it’s still nice to know that this floaty model will be a comfortable option for your child as he or she grows. Below is the size chart for which one will work for your child.
Extras
One thing that always makes a purchase a little extra exciting is when there is something you don’t expect in the box. The LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float with Canopy comes with a pump that will make inflating the float easy. This is especially helpful because this floaty is quite a bit bigger than the two other floats that I’ve already reviewed (the SwimWays Baby Spring Float and the SwimSchool Baby Boat). This saves your lungs and makes it just that much less of a hassle to go to the pool.
This baby float also comes with two floating toys, a whale and a rubber ducky. These are great little tools to keep your young baby interested in staying in the water. They are also useful to motivate your older child to use their arms and legs to paddle in the water after them. This is very important in teaching your child how to move around in the water even with the aid of a floaty.
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Conclusion
Overall, the LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float with Canopy is a really innovative design. It is perfectly safe and it offers your young baby more stability that they don’t get in a sitting up floaty. Another thing I love about it is that it gets your child used to the positions that they will swim in. Instead of them just sitting in the water, your older child will lay on his or her stomach and be able to paddle around in the water, similar to how they would actually swim. It is a step right before water wings.