What Type Of Life Jacket Should My Child Wear?
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 12:00PM 
My family loves a day at the water park or time on the boat. And always I remember important rules such as “Do not leave your child unattended by the water.”“Keep young children at arms length,” “never allow your child to run around the pool area.”
These are all important safety tips in and around water, but can you say you feel safe with your child by the water? As a parent of four, I find myself counting heads every few seconds; and trust me when I say it only takes seconds for pool accidents to happen.
For this reason, when my children are near any body of water they, must wear their life jacket.
Did you know it is a state law for “all children under 13 to wear a personal flotation device on vessels <26 ft when underway unless below deck or enclosed in a cabin?” www.ilga.gov.
Following the Law is important to me, but the most important message I want to send home is your child’s safety. So here are some helpful hints from www.healthychildren.org.
- Children should wear life jackets at all times when on boats or near bodies of water.
- Make sure the life jacket is the right size for your child. The jacket should not be loose. It should always be worn as instructed with all straps belted.
- Blow-up water wings, toys, rafts and air mattresses should not be used as life jackets or personal flotation devices.
- Teach your child how to put on his or her own life jacket.
- Make sure your child is comfortable wearing a life jacket and knows how to use it.
So how do you know what life jacket is right for your child?
I spent a little time gathering some information on different types of life jackets. All life jackets warn on boats must be have a (UL) clearly labeled and be US coast guard approved. So my recommendation is to look for those labels when shopping around.
Also, it is important to know what type of activity your children will be doing in water. For example,
Type I
- Best for all waters, open ocean, rough seas, or remote water, where rescue may be slow coming.
- Abandon-ship lifejacket for commercial vessels and all vessels carrying passengers for hire.
- These life jackets are typically used when aboard a cruise ship.
Type II
- For general boating activities.
- Good for calm, inland waters, or where there is a good chance for fast rescue.
- These jackets are most frequently used on family boats and pool side, note the bottom strap, for the children that do not know how to swim or are not strong swimmers.
Type III
- For general boating or the specialized activity that is marked on the device such as water skiing, hunting, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and others.
- Good for calm, inland waters, or where there is a good chance for fast rescue. Designed so that wearing it will complement your boating activities.
- These jackets are for the more advanced swimmers.
- You may see a person wearing this life jacket while water skiing, note the bottom strap is not present.
Type IV
- A life preserver is a cushion or ring and is not worn.
- It is designed to be used in two ways.
- It can be grasped and held until the person is rescued, or it can be thrown to someone in the water until he or she is rescued.
- It is not a toy and should only be used in a rescue situation.
I hope this sheds some light on life jackets and always remember SAFETY FIRST. We love to see all of our families, but we prefer to see you for well visits!
The information provided was obtained at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5214/pfdselection.asp#recreational.
Written by Marciann Bock, APN
Reader Comments (1)
Very good post. Selecting the right life jacket for your child is very important. All points are very relevant