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Notice: This site has been moved. Please visit volunteerlifesavers.org to see the current site.
These pages are retained to avoid broken links.
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Parents & Guardians
There are two simple rules that will maximize your safety when boating with your children...
Put properly sized, Coast Guard approved, life jackets on your children......and wear one yourself.
Simple isn't it?
Wearing a life jacket yourself does far more than model good behavior, it helps assure that you are ready and able to provide assistance in case of an emergency. Prepared parents prepare themselves!
Our partner The National Safe Kids Campaign has found that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 1 to 14.
To learn more about life jackets visit the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Life Jacket pages.
Sizing a Life Jacket
Child PFD approvals are based on the child's weight. Check the "User Weight" on the label, or the approval statement that will read something like "Approved for use on recreational boats and uninspected commercial vessels not carrying passengers for hire, by persons weighing __ lbs". They can be marked "less than 30", "30 to 50", "less than 50", or "50 to 90".
To check for a good fit, pick the child up by the shoulders of the PFD. If the PFD fits right, the child's chin and ears will not slip through. A child's PFD should be tested in the water immediately after purchase. Children panic when they fall into the water suddenly. They move their arms and legs violently and try to climb out of the water, making it hard to float safely in a PFD. A PFD will keep a child afloat, but may not keep a struggling child face-up. That is why it is so important to teach children how to put on a PFD and to teach them to relax in the water.
PFDs are not babysitters. Even though a child wears a PFD when on or near the water, an adult should always be there, too. Parents should remember that inflatable toys and rafts should not be used in place of PFDs.
Infants and Life Jackets:Fitting life jackets to infants is a particular challenge. Please review the following links:
U.S. Coast Guard Life and Fire Safety Standards
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Thank you for visiting District 13 - Division 7 Please send concerns to the webmaster, Webmaster: SO-CS 130-07 Last Revision 07/02/2007 Copyright © 2005 U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary |