Baby Neck Float...

I read this blog through my feed reader, Thingamababy. A lot of product reviews made by a dad who gives his opinion on the products, and leaves it up to his reading public to decide if they think it's for them or not.

He had a post today about a strange product for most, a baby neck float. Of course it brought about jabs about how strange it is, and how unnatural to just throw a ring around your kid's neck and let them dangle in the water.

But to me it's a really promising looking product. Max does just dangle in the pool...with us holding his head up above the water, as well as making sure his whole body is submersed to get the full affect of "standing" in the water. It's an exhausting exercise, and one Max doesn't enjoy, because he's being held onto the whole time, without being able to move freely.

There are products out there for children with special needs to be able to go swimming, but they're often bigger than would fit around Max's tiny neck. And they tend to run anywhere from $100-$300 for a ring to go around the neck. I found these on ebay for $7.95. That's worth it to try out. We could get it, and Max still not like the pool. But if we get it and he loves it, we can invest in the bigger ones once we gets older without hesitation.

So while most of the parents commenting on his post will be sickened and aghast at the thought of their precious child's head bobbing above the water sticking out of a little plastic ring, to me I see a promise of actually getting to swim with Max this summer.