Ordered these for my two young daughters for a beach/swim park vacation. I was so happy not to be constantly worrying about my older daughter. My younger daughter kept tipping to the side but I put the kitty water wings on her - also purchased here - and it evened things out so she could be safe, too. Definitely a great purchase!
My son will be four in 2 weeks. I think it took him less than a week using this jacket at home for him to be swimming on his own. We went to the mountains this last week after owning the jacket for 2 weeks and he swam the entire time without the jacket! He looks like a little fishy! I am amazed at this product and am so glad that we bought it! He is a small 4 year old, but we went by the weight and the small fits great.
I bought this product for our Memorial Day vacation, and it worked incredibly well. My 2-year old daughter had a ball, and didn't want me to touch her when she was swimming at the end of the trip. The product does exactly what it says - gives children incredible confidence in the water. We used ours exclusively in the pool. I will say that the vest seemed tight on my 26-pounder. I got the smallest size available, which is supposed to start at 26 lbs.
I have tried many swimming vests and I wish this was the first one I bought!! My Son and Doughter both swam fine and it did not ride up on their necks like all the other vests do...
the vest is nice, but fits very snugly (I imagine this is so it won't ride up when they are in the water) but does feel a little on the short side for an average 2.5 year old. My son is just 28 lbs and the small is quite hard to zip it up but he seems comfortable when wearing it. If your child is on the heavier side, I'd suggest you get the medium. Wearing this vest and water wings, my son can easily 'swim' around the pool on his own, without bobbing forward and submerging his face. Without the water wings, he can and does still fall face forward at times. Also, what's not pictured here is the back, which says in rather large letters 'the original konfidence jacket'. I hate big logos and writing on things, so had I known this I likely would have chosen the more plain Speedo version.
I bought this for my 2.5 year old son. He loves the water but wanted to be more independent. It took a few minutes for him to realize he had to keep his head up but the jacket kept him in a great position. I bought the small jacket (my son is very slim) and it fits snug and did not ride up. He is really doing well kicking and moving his arms to move through the water. Well worth the money and very good quality.