As we get ready for another busy fishing and boating season, I realize that I am probably beginning to sound like a broken record, but boating safety is really important. A couple of weeks ago we all heard about the tragic drowning of the family near Georgetown and in the details of the reporting we were made aware that nobody on the boat was wearing nor had a life jacket. I’ll be the first to say I do not wear my life jacket when on the boat very often. If running by myself or conditions I deem dangerous I will put it on, but my children wear one at all times. I am certainly not saying it is a bad idea for adults to wear them at all times, I just know it is really important that my two young children, who can both swim, still need to have their life jackets on in case something happens and they end up in the water. When buying kids life jackets it is important that you buy them the right equipment. Not only should you pay close attention to weights and age limits on the life jacket, but fit is also very important. The following is a brief article from BoatUS and contained within that article is a link to an online video BoatUS has put together on how to properly fit a child for a life jacket. We hope you find this article useful and possibly help save someone from a terrible tragedy in the future.
Summer Water Safety Tip:
How to Fit and Borrow a Child’s Life Jacket
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 17, 2009 - Summer will soon be here and for many parents, this may be the first time your family goes boating. To make sure everyone is ready, the non-profit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has three free online resources at BoatUS.com/Foundation/LJLP/fit_video to make sure the kids are safe:
How to properly fit a kid’s lifejacket: Having a child wear an adult or incorrectly sized life jacket could be as dangerous as having no life jacket at all, giving parents a false sense of security. A short online video explains how to fit a right-sized life jacket to your child.
How to borrow a kid’s l