As summer approaches, your kids are probably excited to visit their local lake, river, or shore. Watersports like tubing, paddleboarding, and boating are always fun adventures for the family – it’s important your children wear appropriate life jackets to eliminate the risk of drowning.
But picking the right type and size of life jacket, especially for younger children (like toddlers), can be challenging. Picking the wrong vest could, in fact, put your children in danger when they’re on the water.
Here’s how to pick the right life jackets for your little ones.
Always Pick a Coast Guard-Approved Life Jacket
A Coast Guard-approved vest (also called a “USCGA” or “CGA” life jacket) must meet certain standards for buoyancy and protection. In other words, a CGA life jacket of the appropriate type and size is rated to prevent drowning, even if the wearer is unconscious.
That last bit is important: Some children drown because they receive a sharp blow to the head, causing them to become unconscious. This can be frighteningly common when engaging in towed watersports, like boat tubing, wakeboarding, or water skiing.
Which Type of Life Jacket is Best for Kids?
There are a few types of life jackets, categorized by the Coast Guard, to consider. These are officially called PFD (personal flotation device) classifications:
Type I: Type I life jackets are the most buoyant, providing the greatest protection against drowning for all wearers. A Type I jacket will turn an unconscious face-up in the water, preventing accidental drowning.
These vests are best suited for infants, toddlers, and young children.
Type II: Type II life jackets are specialized buoyant. They provide high buoyancy and a greater range of motion than a Type I jacket, but they won’t keep the wearer’s head above water if they’re unconscious.
These vests are suitable for older children and young teenagers.
Type III: Type III jackets are near-shore buoyant vests. Competition vests (or simply “comp vests”) which are often worn by water skiers and wakeboarders, fall in this category.
These vests provide the most range of motion, but will not necessarily keep the wearer’s head above water on their own, under any circumstances. These vests make it easier to tread water, but the wearer must put in effort to stay above the water by paddling their arms and/or legs, too.
These vests are not suitable for most children and should only be worn by older teenagers who have plenty of experience engaging in towed watersports. Even still, these should be worn close to shore, and rescuers should always be nearby when anyone in the water is wearing a Type III jacket.
New Life Jacket Buoyancy Ratings
In addition to PDF “type” classifications, most new life jackets have updated and simpler buoyancy ratings. These ratings are numeric, and range from 50 up to 275. The numbers refer to the newtons of buoyancy, which can also be converted into pounds.
“Type” classified vests can also be categorized by these new buoyancy ratings. The general rule of thumb is this:
· Type I jackets must have a buoyancy rating of at least 150.
· Type II jackets must have a buoyancy rating of at least 100.
· Type III jackets and comp vests must have a buoyancy rating of at least 70.
New life jackets will also display other symbols indicating certain features. As important is the jacket’s turning ability, referring to whether the jacket will turn an unconscious wearer face-up.
This symbol is represented by a circular arrow rotating clockwise. If the arrow is crossed out, the jacket cannot turn an unconscious wearer face up – this jacket should not be worn by children.
Picking The Right Size Life Jacket
Thankfully, picking the right type of life jacket – like we described above – is the most complicated part, but we’ve cleared all that up above. Picking the right size of jacket is easy. Virtually all CGA life jackets list the weight of the wearer.
For infants and toddlers, a life jacket with a wearer weight up to 30 pounds is appropriate. Many jackets will simply be advertised for young children, sporting a label that says “toddler life jacket,” or “infant life jacket.”
For older children, the chest circumference and weight of the child might both be indicated on the jacket’s size information, with sizes like “Small,” “Medium,” “Large,” “Junior,” “Youth,” and “Teen” denoting various child’s sizes and measurements. Simply verify your child’s weight and chest measurements before picking the appropriate jacket.
Fitting Your Child’s Life Jacket
The right size jacket is only half the battle. Getting the jacket to fit comfortably, without restricting your child – and without falling off in the water – is equally critical to ensuring your child’s safe, but having a good time.
Jackets with contoured shoulders and neck rings are best, as they allow for freer motion of the head and arms. It’s also best to pick a jacket is at least two horizontal chest straps. These straps will allow you to contour the upper and lower portions of the jacket to your child’s frame, ensuring it doesn’t slip up or down while they’re swimming or jumping into the water.