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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Oh, and I forgot to note (in the story I mentioned before), the child was within a few feet of his parent when it happened.[/quote]

I live in California. The Pacific Ocean has dangerous wave patterns in a lot of spots and it is not even safe to be near the water sometimes. They have waves I had never even heard of before moving here, like sneaker waves that come out of nowhere and can sweep a kid away. People who live here are very aware of these dangers and don't even let kids in the water at all when there is a risk that they will be in effect. This is not really the case on the east coast. And, the people who make their kids wear life jackets to sit and play in the sand sound totally nuts (and I am very safety conscious). I can't even imagine how uncomfortable that is. If your non-swimming child could take off and run into the ocean before you noticed, you probably should back up from the water another 10 yards at least.  Also, do kids really just run into the ocean?

Lastly, the ocean (anywhere) is dangerous enough for people who don't swim that there are probably a lot of circumstances in which your non-swimmer would not be saved by a life jacket (in big waves with undertow). I kind of think making them think it's ok to get in with the life reserver might be more dangerous than making going near the water (or farther than up to their ankles with an adult holding their hand) off limits.[/quote]

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