Children’s health: Are baby neck floats safe to use in the tub or pool?

Baby neck floats have become a popular accessory on social media, often shown as a cute and convenient way to let infants bob around in the tub or pool. While these inflatable rings may look fun and relaxing, their growing popularity has also sparked serious safety concerns.

As a parent, it's natural to wonder whether baby neck floats provide helpful support or introduce unnecessary risks during water play. Before using one, it's important to understand how they work, what professionals say about their safety and what precautions matter most when your baby is in or near water.

Despite their appealing design, baby neck floats carry significant safety risks. If the float isn't inflated properly, gets an air leak, or becomes slippery, a baby can fall through the ring’s opening and into the water. This can happen very quickly and cause a baby's mouth, nose, or their whole head to slide underwater in seconds.

Even when a parent is nearby, there may not be enough time to react if hands are not already on the child. Many brands state that parents must be within arm's reach of the child while using the float. Still, dozens of close calls have been reported, and at least two babies have drowned while using neck floats.

Between January 2019 and January 2024, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received 115 reports of incidents involving neck floats, including the two reports of infant deaths and two injuries that required hospitalization. In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning urging parents not to use baby neck floats. The CPSC also warned parents not to buy or use Otteroo, a popular brand of neck flotation rings, citing serious drowning hazards.

Although the CPSC approved a new federal product safety standard for baby neck floats in 2025, these products remain risky. Even when they meet updated standards, the way neck floats are designed and used can still allow babies to slip through and go underwater.

Drowning isn't the only concern. Pressure placed under the chin and around the neck can affect the airway or move the head into an unsafe position. Because babies have small, soft airways and limited head and neck control, even slight changes in positioning can interfere with breathing more easily than parents may realize.

Baby neck floats can also put strain on a baby's neck and press on the developing bones of the spine, which are not meant to support a baby's full body weight.

The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes in drowning prevention guidance that inflatable swimming aids, such as neck floats, are not a substitute for approved life jackets. These products can give parents a false sense of security and should not be relied on to keep infants safe in the water.

Whenever babies or young children are in or near water, an adult should provide “touch supervision.” This means staying close enough to keep a hand on the child at all times. Touch supervision helps ensure faster reactions if a child slips, struggles, or changes position. Watching from the edge of the tub or poolside is not enough.

Enrolling your child in swim lessons at an early age is another way to be able to safely swim with your child. The AAP recommends swim lessons, which many children can start at age 1, as a layer of protection against drowning. Water survival skills training and swim lessons can help reduce drowning risk for children between ages 1-4, but most children are ready for swim lessons by age 4 or 5.

• Children's health is a continuing series. This column was provided by American Academy of Pediatrics. See more at www.healthychildren.org.