Think back to your childhood; do you remember pretending to be a mermaid whenever you were in a pool with your friends? Many children had this dream of being a mermaid, but kids in today's society can actually fulfill this dream of being a mermaid by using a "mermaid tail" whenever they go to a pool. These mermaid tails use various materials to constrict legs together and have a plastic or silicone end to the tail to look like a classic mermaid tail. Yes, this is aesthetic and makes for good pictures; but whenever it comes to actually swimming it is a completely different story. The movement a mermaid uses whenever swimming is adapted from a swimming stroke called butterfly; which is widely accepted as the hardest stroke in swimming. To swim with this tail you have to be able to press your chest into the water making an undulating motion that passes down your whole body, which is a lot harder than it looks. Unless your child has been on a swim team or is an advanced swimmer they probably have never swam like this before. Since your legs are constricted by the tail while swimming there is no way to separate your legs and do flutter or breaststroke kick (which are common kicks used by children and kicks used when treading water). As a lifeguard I have seen a way to many eager kids jump into the water with their mermaid tails, not actually knowing how to properly swim with it subsequently leading to the child frantically thrashing around trying to reach the side of the pool. A study has even been conducted that has found that these tails can increase the chance of your child drowning by up to 70%! I am begging you please do not buy your child these mermaid tails. Yes, these tails look cute and seem like a good idea; but unless you plan on teaching your child how to properly swim with these tails, i can assure you it is not a good idea.

below are links to videos that teach you how to swim butterfly and how to swim with these tails.

https://youtu.be/6zi65Hv76lQ

https://youtu.be/H16wDdWw3Cc

Please be sure to educate yourself, and know how to properly use your mermaid tail before taking it into a pool.