Do you take a life vest for your under 2yo for the beach?

[amcess721]

Should we bother with a life vest for beach days? Obviously she won't be out in the water alone - but just wondering what other cruisers do.

 

First cruise for all...

15 month old daugther going with us! :)

[cb at sea]

How about those "water wings"--she won't be out of your grasp, so I wouldn't even try to lug a whole lifevest. They do have swimsuits now that have a floatation device built in--seems much more comfy than anything you'd have to strap on the child.

I wouldn't bother with a vest.

[Wilda]

I agree with cb about leaving the life vest at home. It was so hot on the beaches last week in St. Maarten and Labadee; I would think a life vest would make it that much more uncomfortable and restricted. You can always hold her when taking her for a dip;)

[boulders]

Our community has a small beach here in MN. Parents of non-swimming kids put the life vest on and leave it on when at the beach. I'm one of them. Even when the temperature is in the mid-90's. Better safe than sorry.

 

Every year, I hear about parents who drown in rivers and lakes because a child got in trouble in the water and they went in to save them. Often both the parent and the child drown.

 

A few years ago, I took my kids and a nanny to Hawaii. We went to a "baby beach" which is a protected area with no surf. While I was wading in waist deep water about 50 feet out with the older kids, the one year old was on the beach with the nanny. They were about 20 feet from where the water was gently lapping the beach. At one point, the ocean lapped 30 feet up the beach, pulling my one year old and his toys back towards the ocean. :eek::eek: The nanny was able to retrieve the baby, and I retrieved "most" of the toys. Although tragedies are rare, they do happen.

[crusinmama06]

I agree with Boulders...if you have a life vest, then take it. You just never know what kind of conditions you will be in.

[siestakim]

We just got off our cruise last week with our 7 year old. Although he can swim, we took the life vest so he could enjoy the snorkling excursion we had planned. It allowed him to be in the deep water without the worry of drowning. So if you have one, take it. It can't hurt.

[calikak]

We brought ours for our son who was 16 months old. We were cruising in Mexico and the water was too rough for us to take him swimming, but we did use it at the wading pool at the resort we visited in PV. The wading pool was deeper than I expected and I was glad we had it with us. We didn't bring it when we went to Cabo because normally it's too rough to swim much there, but that day it happened to be calm, so I was sad we hadn't brought it along.

[Conrycol]

Take it with you. Doesn't really take much space and the peace of mind it will give you will be worth the extra effort.

[Wavesprite]

We took the blow up arm floaties. When we are home at the pool she wears a life vest speedo vest....

 

I will warn you though, if your child isn't used to either, they just might end up face first in the water.....it take a bit for them to get used to the buoyancy.

[kasil]

one that has more padding in the front than the back and has a support for the child's head. That way, should the worst happen and your child becomes unconscious, the extra padding in front will cause your child to stay face up and the head support will keep the head above water. Water wings won't do either and only offer a false sence of security. If you can, have your child practice wearing the life jacket before your vacation, so it is more of a routine and hopefully will be more easily accepted when it's really needed. Let your child know that it's something two year olds need to go swimming, just like you need to buckle up while in the car. It may seem like over-kill, but better safe than sorry. Have a wonderful vacation!

[wrangler4u]

Take the life jacket, you wont regret it. Stuff it into one of the front panels of your suitcase, it doesnt weigh much.

[amcess721]

Thanks for all the input! We'll take the vest along.

Not worried about the weight of stuff really - we're driving to the port in NYC :)

[Julienatul]

We didnt take the life vest, just a fold up baby float and either DH or I was with her at all times. If you are going somewhere with rough waves I would take the vest.

 

Julie