Inflatable armbands (usually referred to as just "armbands", "water wings", "swimmies" or "floaties"), are devices to help a wearer float in water and learn to swim.
Inflatable armbands are typically cylindrical inflatable plastic bands that are inflated and worn on the upper arm. When the wearer is in water, the air inside the armbands provides buoyancy on account of its far lower density than the water. Although often thought of as a child's flotation device, armbands are also available in adult sizes.
Although inflatable armbands are popular among small children, swimming experts caution against using them, because although water wings help the child to float, they do not prevent him/her from accidentally going under water and potentially drowning. Inflatable armbands are not a life-saving device. Mistaking them for one can create a potentially fatal false sense of security.
Inflatable armbands teach children the improper vertical position in the water, instead of the correct horizontal swimming position. They can also slip off and lead to drowning. These are several reasons why these devices are not recommended by professionals.
National safety standards such as BS EN 13138-3:2007 require inflatable armbands to conform to certain standards, such as puncture resistance and the level of buoyancy retained after a period of time beyond the inflation valve being opened and left open (an assessment of the efficiency of non-return valves designed to prevent the armbands deflating suddenly if an inflation valve is opened). Standards also require prominent labelling near the inflation valves to the effect that inflatable armbands are not life preservers and should only be used under competent supervision. Supervisors should be in the water within arms distance of the person wearing the devices.
Inflatable armbands for swimmers were invented by Bernhard Markwitz in Hamburg, Germany. In 1956, Markwitz's three-year-old daughter had fallen into a goldfish pond and nearly drowned. Because of this, Markwitz invented and developed a swimming aid that would be safer for children than the swimming rings at the time, which were made of cork. A lottery win (253 thousand Deutsche Mark) gave him a suitable start capital. In 1964, Markwitz had developed the armbands in their final form and marketed them under the name "BEMA". Their modern name in German, Schwimmflügel, literally translates as "swimming wings".
A similar design of waterwings was shown in the magazine Modern Mechanix in October 1931. They were made of rubber, consisted of two parts and were worn on the upper arms. The armbands could be inflated through a valve. These were first demonstrated in public on the beaches of Los Angeles, California, USA.
In 1907, in response to swimming having become part of the school curriculum and therefore increased parental concerns about the safety of their children in the water, the Dean's Rag Book Company, London, introduced the Swimeesy Buoy, inflatable armbands with a colourful design in the form of a butterfly. (A plain white version was also available). This product became so popular that it was available, almost unchanged, until the outbreak of World War II.