How to Select Children's Flotation Devices

Selecting a flotation device for your child is of the utmost importance, as hundreds of kids under the age of 5 die in swimming pools every year. Until children learn to swim well, they must wear a proper flotation device to safeguard their lives. Additionally, having the right sized children's life jacket is also of critical importance when boating. The stakes are simply too high to get it wrong.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Choose Flotation Devices for Boating

1. Select only U.S. Coast Guard approved life vests for use on recreational boats. Approved life vests will have an approval statement on the label. These life vests are not only required to keep a child above water, they must also keep the face out of the water and the head upright.
2. Select the proper size flotation device for your child. Children's life vests are approved for certain weights. Life vests are approved for 'less than 30 lbs', '30 to 50 lbs', 'less than 50 lbs' or '50 to 90 lbs.' Choosing the right size is crucial to the effectiveness of the life vest.
3. Check with state boating safety officials to familiarize yourself with state laws about child flotation device usage. Some states require them at all times and other only when the boat is underway.

Choose Flotation Devices for Swimming

4. Evaluate your child's water comfort level. It's important to objectively determine how comfortable your child is in the water when not being held onto.
5. Select a flotation device to match your child's comfort level. Arm band floaties are good swim aids for children who are comfortable in the water and can almost swim. Meanwhile, children who are timid in the water should be fitted with flotation vests or swimsuits for their safety and to help improve confidence.

Tips & Warnings

• Test children's life vests for buoyancy in shallow water before taking it out into deep water. The vest should keep the child's chin out of the water.
• Check the fit of a life vest by picking the child up by the shoulders while on land. The life vest is fitting properly if the chin and the ears remain above the neck opening. If a life vest is too big on a child, it may not position the child properly in the water and lead to drowning. Conversely, a life vest that is too small many not keep a child afloat.
• Keep a close eye on children whenever they are near water. Even children that have learned to swim or are wearing flotation devices should be closely supervised.