Do you make your kid wear a life jacket at the beach all the time?

[Anonymous]

No.

They're hot, restrict movement, and are hard to swim in. When they do go in the water they don't go in deep unless they are with an adult anyway, because they are young.

[Anonymous]

In Florida you probably wouldn't need it, maybe even up the coast as far as NC, however, in NY & NJ and further north the tides start getting really strong, depending on the beach. I was up to my knees on LI a week ago and almost got knocked down in the undertow - and I'm very strong. There was a moment when my daughter's hand was wet and even though she was holding mine, I felt her slipping... It was scary. I am contemplating a thin jacket or something for wading in the water, and I would not care a bit what anyone else thought. Let everyone in the world call me overprotective of my child! As long as she's safe.

[Anonymous]

My 2.5 yo just sits and plays in the sand or stomps in the 2 inch surf with close parental supervision, so he does not wear a life jacket.

My 4.5 yo wore a life jacket for the first time this year (OBX) and it was awesome! He was in the water non-stop and got to venture out a little bit deeper. It was a lot more fun and relaxing because he was more buoyant and loved jumping and body surfing and boogie boarding (close to shore). He would be in the waves almost nonstop for 2+ hours each day. That can be exhausting when you're lifting a kid through the waves and bracing for bigger crashes so it was more fun for the parents too. We still stayed with him and watched him like a hawk, but now we could swim a few feet away and he could get tossed by a wave but still come up laughing and loving it. And he could paddle back to me, which was knew this year. He would shout, I'm swimming I'm swimming! So much easier than last year when he would hang on and drag me down and I had to support his weight fully and keep his sputtering face out of the water when a wave hit.

All this to say that a life jacket might be a good fit for your kid if they are adventurous in the water but not strong swimmers yet. If the waves are strong where you are and the depth varies quickly from shallow to deep as the swells go by, you might enjoy it!

[Anonymous]

Also I would add that we do puddle jumpers at the pool when you want them to swim flat on their belly like free style breast stroke doggy paddle. And in the waves the life jacket made more sense because they're standing and jumping in the waves a lot more. Lots of kids had more stream-lined jackets (speedo maybe?) that seemed to have more ease of movement than my kid's Stearns life jacket that is for kayaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally overthinking it. You aren't going to let a five or three year old go in the ocean without an adult right? I only put our kids in lifejackets when doing water sports (boating, water skiing, tubing, etc.).

+1
My DH is responsible for the oldest and I take the youngest. Never take your eyes off them! My DC's preschool friend was run over by a car at the beach. Careless parents or grandparents. They have since changed the laws to reduce the risk of accidents. Keep your eyes on your child and w/in arms reach.

[Anonymous]

Just got back from a beach trip with my 2 and 4 yo nieces. If they were playing in the sand or at the edge of the surf, they would not wear life jackets but there was always an adult very close by. On days when the water was calm, we would take the girls out past where the waves break. Adults could easily stand, but the kids could not- so they wore life jackets as a precaution then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally over thinking it. We live at the beach over the summer. Go everyday from 10-4 usually. I have a 1.5 yr old and 4.5 yr old. Neither wear a lift vest at all times. With that said if your younger one is a runner with zero common sense, maybe you need it. Most of the kids that have to wear at all times are wild beasts that can't be controlled

You're doing it WRONG woman.

You're supposed to go BEFORE 10am and AFTER 4pm.

Seriously. She should be more worried about skin cancer then life vests. Yikes.

Wild beast that can't be controlled...really?

[Anonymous]

I have to laugh at all of this because growing up we spent 2 weeks ever summer on a beach that didn't have life guards. My parents had 3 kids 2 or less years apart. So there was summer when we were 2, 3.5 and 5. We had no flotation devices. We are all alive to tell about it.

Not saying to throw caution to the wind or that my parent made the best choices but I also can't imagine having kids were life vests the entire time they are on the beach. Especially a 5 yr old.

FWIW we took my son when he was 3 and he was fine. He was actually a little scared of the ocean and would not have dared go near it without us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally over thinking it. We live at the beach over the summer. Go everyday from 10-4 usually. I have a 1.5 yr old and 4.5 yr old. Neither wear a lift vest at all times. With that said if your younger one is a runner with zero common sense, maybe you need it. Most of the kids that have to wear at all times are wild beasts that can't be controlled

You're doing it WRONG woman.

You're supposed to go BEFORE 10am and AFTER 4pm.

Seriously. She should be more worried about skin cancer then life vests. Yikes.

That is not the point weather or not they can't be controlled or not, yes your watching like a hawk but at the same time God Forbid you can slip and fall, this leaves your child defenseless... It's better to take extra per cautions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally overthinking it. You aren't going to let a five or three year old go in the ocean without an adult right? I only put our kids in lifejackets when doing water sports (boating, water skiing, tubing, etc.).

+1 why would you need one on the beach...unless your kid runs off on his/her own

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at all of this because growing up we spent 2 weeks ever summer on a beach that didn't have life guards. My parents had 3 kids 2 or less years apart. So there was summer when we were 2, 3.5 and 5. We had no flotation devices. We are all alive to tell about it.

Not saying to throw caution to the wind or that my parent made the best choices but I also can't imagine having kids were life vests the entire time they are on the beach. Especially a 5 yr old.

FWIW we took my son when he was 3 and he was fine. He was actually a little scared of the ocean and would not have dared go near it without us.

Again does not mean it can't happen, of course your not going to have them wear their life vest all day, but when your going in the water with them I think it's like a safety net. This does not mean that you will not be holding their hands its just a just in case...just in case the waves knock you out at least it'll be easier for you to grab your baby.... safety always...it only takes a second....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at all of this because growing up we spent 2 weeks ever summer on a beach that didn't have life guards. My parents had 3 kids 2 or less years apart. So there was summer when we were 2, 3.5 and 5. We had no flotation devices. We are all alive to tell about it.

Not saying to throw caution to the wind or that my parent made the best choices but I also can't imagine having kids were life vests the entire time they are on the beach. Especially a 5 yr old.

FWIW we took my son when he was 3 and he was fine. He was actually a little scared of the ocean and would not have dared go near it without us.

Again does not mean it can't happen, of course your not going to have them wear their life vest all day, but when your going in the water with them I think it's like a safety net. This does not mean that you will not be holding their hands its just in case the waves knock you out at least it'll be easier for you to grab your baby.... safety always...it only takes a second for your baby to get swept away....

[Anonymous]

i am pretty cautious about the water, but I've never had my now 6-year-old wear a life jacket at the beach.

However, she is not/has never been a runner; she is usually dogging our heels. If she were a runner, I would likely do things differently.

When she was little (1-3), she usually played in the sand with me or my husband -- either way, she always had one parent's full attention. If she did go in the water, one of us was usually holding both of her hands in water no higher than our knees/her waist, or sitting beside her in water no more than two inches deep. My rule of thumb was I had to be close enough to her that I could run to her before she could run into the water.

As she has gotten older (4-6), we've eased up a bit. She's often playing in the sand with other (older) kids, and we'll let her go in the water by herself as far as her knees/thighs. (Note that, at the beach we go to, that means she's too far up the beach for a wave to crash over her. If the surf were different, I might make a different call.)

When we've been at beaches with low/no wave action, we've taken her out farther, but always holding on to her.

[Anonymous]

Glad this thread started, we leave for the beach with our 27 month old in 2 weeks and was wondering what others did. We're bringing the lifejacket, but there's several cute little water parks near the beach, so we're planning on just using the jacket just there. At the beach she will be supervised by at least 5 adults, and I'm quite sure the waves will be very intimidating to her anyways.

[Anonymous]

depends a little on personality and maturity (and the current/wave situation, I think). my 6-year-old niece is an excellent swimmer and can generally be trusted not to go running for the ocean while parent is looking the other way. so, no lifevest for her at all usually unless she's engaging in watersports or swimming on a day with significant current. my just-turned-3-year-old niece swims a little and is confident in the water, but certainly has been known to make a break for it, and our beach features unpredictable currents and occasional riptides. so, she wears the lifejacket if she is anywhere near the water. my 18-mo-old daughter can't swim at all and might try to make a break for the water, but is also is pretty easy to keep up with. so, I keep a life jacket on her if we are in the ocean or if she is near the water (ie, playing in the wet sand near the waves), and otherwise not. I can still run fast enough to catch her if she tries to take off from farther up the beach.