A swim diaper is made not to soak up water, so the water flows in and out and it stays slim and light. Elastic that sits snug around the legs and waist holds solid poop in for a while, long enough for you to lift your baby out.
Until potty training is done, your baby needs one for every swim: in a pool, the sea or a lake, at a splash pad and in swim classes. Most public pools ask for one, and many swim classes want a second, snug layer on top.
- For ages0–3years
- You'll need2per swim
- Wear itAll year
Does a swim diaper hold pee?
No, and it isn't meant to. Anything that soaked up pee would soak up the pool as well, which is exactly what a regular diaper does. Reusable swim diapers don't hold pee either, soft lining or not.
It isn't leak-proof for poop either. It holds solid poop back for a while, but runny poop gets out much sooner, so when your baby poops, you get out of the water.
What the water does to each
What the water does to each
Not good: It soaks up the pool
The padding inside a regular diaper drinks up water the moment it goes in. It swells, sags and gets heavy, and it can split open in the water.
Good: Water runs through, the bands hold poop back
The water runs in and out and the swim diaper stays slim. Pee runs out with it, while the snug bands at the legs and waist hold solid poop back long enough to get out of the water.
Good: A second seal at the legs
A snug neoprene cover over the swim diaper closes the legs and waist a second time, so solid poop stays in a little longer.
Disposable or reusable?
Reusable ones suit a young baby and weekly swims, disposable ones a holiday or the odd swim.
Disposable
Built like disposable diaper pants, with a core that doesn't swell in water, and thrown away after one swim. The sides tear open or unfasten, so a dirty one comes off without sliding down the legs. In US shops, many start at about 7 kg (16 lb).
- Good: Nothing to wash
- Good: Sides open to take off
- Not good: One swim, then the bin
- Not good: Few sizes for small babies
Reusable
Looks like little swim briefs: swimsuit fabric outside, a soft lining inside, elastic around the legs. Many close with snaps that adjust to a small baby. After the swim it gets a rinse and goes in the wash with your baby's clothes.
- Good: Snaps close small
- Good: Costs less if you swim often
- Not good: Rinse and wash after each swim
The double layer for swim classes
Many swim classes ask babies and toddlers to wear two layers. The first is a disposable or reusable swim diaper against the skin. Over it goes a snug cover of neoprene (a soft, rubbery foam), with tight, ribbed bands at the legs and waist. Shops sell the cover as a neoprene swim diaper, and some baby wetsuits have one built in. In a class that asks for both, it goes over a swim diaper, not instead of one.
Pools set their own rules. Some ask only for a swim diaper, some want the double layer for every baby, and some let babies in diapers use only a splash area built for them. Check before you go, so you pack the right layers.
Before and after the swim
Your baby travels to the pool in a regular diaper, because a swim diaper holds no pee and the first pee would soak the car seat. Swap them in the changing room as you undress your baby, and put the cover on top if the class asks for one. Pack a second swim diaper for after a poop.
After the swim, a regular diaper goes back on before the clothes, for the same reason. A wet reusable one goes home in a wet bag.
Questions parents ask
Is there a swim diaper for a newborn?
Yes, mostly reusable ones, whose snaps close small enough for a young baby, while many disposable ones start bigger. How warm the water has to be at that age is on the baby swimsuit page.
Do you put a regular diaper under a swim diaper?
No. Under the water a regular diaper swells and gets heavy, and it would do the same under a swim diaper. The swim diaper goes on alone, against the skin.
Can a baby swim in just a swim diaper?
Yes, in a warm indoor pool, unless the pool asks for a cover on top. Outdoors, a long-sleeve swimsuit over the swim diaper keeps the sun off the skin.
Can I use a swim diaper as a regular diaper?
No. Out of the water it leaks the first time your baby pees.
What should I do if my baby poops in the swim diaper?
Get out of the water straight away and change your baby in the changing area. If any poop got into the water, tell the lifeguard at once, because the pool has to clear it out before anyone swims again.
Do swim diapers work for breastfed babies?
Less well, because breastfed poop is often runny, and a swim diaper holds solid poop best. A snug neoprene cover on top helps, and when your baby poops, you get out at once.
Do I need a swim diaper for a quick dip?
Yes, every time your baby goes into shared water: a pool, a splash pad, a lake or the sea. Poop can come in the first minute as easily as the last.
What can I use if I don't have a swim diaper?
Nothing does the same job, and a regular diaper doesn't work at all, so wait until you have one.
Is swim diaper sizing the same as diaper size?
Not always. Swim diapers are sized by weight too, but each brand's weights are its own, so go by the weight on the pack, not your baby's usual size number. On your baby it should sit snug around the legs, because a gap there is where poop gets out.
How many swim diapers do I need?
Two for each swim: the one your baby wears and a spare for after a poop. With reusable ones, those two are all you need, as long as each one is washed before the next swim.
How do I wash a reusable swim diaper?
Tip any poop into the toilet, rinse it in cool water, and wash it with your baby's clothes. Let it dry in the air.
Does a swim diaper go under the swimsuit?
Yes. The swim diaper goes on first, against the skin, and the swimsuit over it. A one-piece suit with snaps between the legs lets you change the swim diaper without taking the whole suit off.
Does my baby need a swim diaper at a splash pad?
Yes, and check it about once an hour there, because a swim diaper doesn't stop germs, poop or pee getting into the water. Keep your baby from sitting on the jets, which can rinse germs off a bottom and into the water.
Are swim diapers allowed on a cruise ship?
Only in splash areas built for babies. On cruise ships that call at US ports, health rules keep children in diapers out of the pools and hot tubs, so check what your ship has before you pack.
Can my baby swim after a stomach bug?
Not while the diarrhea lasts, swim diaper or not. If a doctor finds Cryptosporidium, a parasite that survives in chlorinated water, wait until two weeks after the diarrhea has stopped completely.
When can my child stop wearing swim diapers?
When they are fully potty trained and can tell you in time. Until then, pools ask for a swim diaper.
