It can be alittle uncomfortable on the belly but we put a swim shirt on and works great. Son is basically swimming independently and this has really helped

Has helped my 4 and now 5 year old get more comfortable swimming on their own. Particularly useful to teach swimming strokes. They can focus on the movement, not having to worry about keeping themselves afloat.

The media could not be loaded. Update: While on vacation this weekend with our grandchildren, the clip broke on the swim trainer. We were able to use a rubber band and have her step in and out of the trainer and it functioned while swimming, but not the same. Granddaughter had to hold it up every time she got out of the pool like a hoola-hoop or it slipped down to her hips. We ordered a new one because honestly she loves it and swims so well with it. But such a disappointment to have it break in the middle of vacation.

This little thing out performed my expectations. We had been using a life vest and sometimes a puddle jumper for our wildly independent 2 year old granddaughter when she came over to swim. However, it was impossible to teach her to swim with a vest or puddle jumper on because neither allowed her to really level out to kick her feet and use her arm. She was constantly trying to take off the vest and puddle jumper. We swam with her without anything but she just jumps in thinking she can swim. While of course no floating device is a substitute for adult supervision ever and we never use one for that purpose, this swim trainer works as intended for her. She's able to level herself out, kick her feet, and move her arms to swim around the pool. She's so cute when she jumps in the pool and then puts her face in the water and takes off with her fierce determination to swim like her brothers. She loves being able to show off her swimming and is no longer trying to squiggle out of our arms to "swim" when she doesn't quite know how. She also loves to keep this trainer on and has not yet decided to get it off. She calls it's her "swim backpack." While we don't truly trust any device to stay on her and to keep her safe without an adult staring at her, this has definitely helped her be able to learn how to swim more while also helped us teach her without her constantly thinking she already knows how. Definitely helps this Gigi be able to get up the steps without worrying that she's jumped back in without any flotation help. Again, it's not a life vest and we must be watch 100 percent of the time because we trust nothing but adult eyes staring at the grandkids in the pool but this sure does help her slow down and swim. I'm a Florida born and raised, so our family is super aware of the danger of drownings. I hesitated to write this review as I don't want to give an impression that it is something that will allow anyone to take their eyes off their child while in the water. So just going overboard in making that clear! We love it and our granddaughter loves it as an aide to help her learn to swim independently.

The buckle on this item is not secure and can pop off easily, causing the child to drown. My son was swimming in the deep end, had not jumped or anything prior and the buckle just came off at a random moment causing him to near-drown until getting grabbed by an adult.
I do not want any child to be at risk of drowning so please do not buy this item!

A swim instructor recommended one of these. My 6 year old is right at 50 lbs, but the smaller size works fine for him. It's just enough to help keep him afloat when he outgrew the puddle jumper. Now he has full range of motion which is helping him make progress learning to swim. Minus one star because the strap is difficult to adjust. Also make sure you push down on the buckle button before releasing. It wasn't intuitive and there weren't instructions for that. I'm also concerned about water drying fully between the layers because I don't want mold to develop, but so far so good! Buy this!