life vest for babies?

[elvo73]

I'm traveling this coming Sunday with my 13 mo. old baby, do you think I should take her life vest with me or use the one from HAL?

Thanks

[cb at sea]

The life vest on the ship is for emergency only--you can't take it off the ship for beaches and stuff. Bring some "floaty" sort for excursions.

[C. Anne]

I would recommend getting one of the bathing suits that contains a life vest for the ports. My daughter was almost 2 when we went to the Caribbean last year and we were in Cozumel - I turned around for a few seconds, heard a lady scream and turned around to see her floating on her stomach. She was fine, but it was really scary. I plan to take our own life vest or swim suit with one built in next time.

 

C. Anne

[dreaminofsun]

It's probably a good idea to bring one along with you. I would NOT recommend the bathing suits with the floaty's built into them. These are not life vests. They are made to help children learn to swim not to actually keep their head above water.

[2Cruise4Ever]

Well, there is one bathing suit with a floaty that will keep the child's head above water. I used it for both my kids before they could even walk. It's the one-piece that has a ring around the middle that sits right at the child's waste. Once in the water, it will be higher up, about mid-chest. I was holding my kids arms also. It just made it easier in the water so I didn't have to hold either of them on my hip.

[Kerry's Girls]

I used the bathing suit with floaties for my girls since they were babies on cruises, since clearly the baby isn't going swimming alone and expected to keep head above water. It just helps - and I had my girls wear them for tender rides in case the unthinkable happened and they ended up in the water (especially for the transfer from the ship to the tender), they wouldn't just sink but could be easily pulled back out. But I agree - these suits wouldn't replace a life jacket for abandoning ship - that's what the ship lifejacket is for.

 

Best,

Mia

[C. Anne]

It's probably a good idea to bring one along with you. I would NOT recommend the bathing suits with the floaty's built into them. These are not life vests. They are made to help children learn to swim not to actually keep their head above water.

 

 

I'm pretty sure I saw one in Academy that said it was a life vest. Some are and some aren't. Just make sure it is a life vest. I think the ones with the little cubes around the waist are not. I'm not sure about the built in rings.

 

In any case, they are not on your child as a babysitter, meaning that you can leave your child unsupervised. They are good for on the shore, just in case your child gets into the water as happened with mine for a split second, and they are good to just give you a hand as you are right there with the child.

[nothriver]

This thread has me a bit concerned.

 

I have a 4 yr old that can't swim. We are going on a 7 day Alaska cruise. We have 2 boat tours planned, plus one day where we tender into port. I'm going to call the tour companies and see if they have life vests available for kids to wear. They don't have life vests availabe on the tenders? I can see that it makes a lot of sense to just bring my own but I'm trying to figure out how to add a life vest to my already overflowing suitcases. That is a pretty large item that I hadn't planned to pack.

 

Here is a video about cold water immersion that I found very imformative. I'm a little concerned about being on such cold water small boats without wearing life jackets. What size boat is relatively safe? I really didn't know, I'm from Iowa and we don't spend much time near the water, and when we do, it is warm water. I have no experience with the dangers of cold water immersion, for children or adults.

 

Am I just being paranoid?

 

[dreaminofsun]

I know a life jacket is a bulky item to pack but I would still bring my own so that I could be sure that it would be the right fit for my child and that he or she is comfortable in it.

We have a cottage and do a lot of boating and have therefore tried a lot of different life jackets. The kids find many of them very uncomfortable to wear so I would rather bring one from home that I know they don't mind wearing (so I don't have to listen to them complain) and I know is safe.

[dreaminofsun]

I used the bathing suit with floaties for my girls since they were babies on cruises' date=' since clearly the baby isn't going swimming alone and expected to keep head above water. It just helps - and I had my girls wear them for tender rides in case the unthinkable happened and they ended up in the water (especially for the transfer from the ship to the tender), they wouldn't just sink but could be easily pulled back out. But I agree - these suits wouldn't replace a life jacket for abandoning ship - that's what the ship lifejacket is for.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

Of course, baby isn't going swimming alone. I just wanted to point out that the bathing suit floaties are not life jackets and that they can actually cause the child to get stuck face down in the water. Personally I would much rather use a life jacket because then if by chance something happens when you have your back turned for a second the childs head will stay above water. Also when you are on shore you can remove the jacket and it's not so bulky for the child to walk around in as the suits. I just find the floaty suits give people a false sense of security when actually they can be dangerous.

[boulders]

I have a 4 yr old that can't swim. We are going on a 7 day Alaska cruise. We have 2 boat tours planned, plus one day where we tender into port. I'm going to call the tour companies and see if they have life vests available for kids to wear. They don't have life vests availabe on the tenders? I can see that it makes a lot of sense to just bring my own but I'm trying to figure out how to add a life vest to my already overflowing suitcases. That is a pretty large item that I hadn't planned to pack.

 

The tour companies and the tender and the ship will have adult and child life jackets in case of emergency. It's a Coast Guard requirement. The responses on this thread have been about the use of life jackets/floaties when swimming.

[C. Anne]

Of course, baby isn't going swimming alone. I just wanted to point out that the bathing suit floaties are not life jackets and that they can actually cause the child to get stuck face down in the water. Personally I would much rather use a life jacket because then if by chance something happens when you have your back turned for a second the childs head will stay above water. Also when you are on shore you can remove the jacket and it's not so bulky for the child to walk around in as the suits. I just find the floaty suits give people a false sense of security when actually they can be dangerous.

 

 

I have to say another bad thing about the swimsuits with the built in life jacket -they are extremely hot. Kids always felt overheated when I took them off. I don't think the one with the built in inner tube would be hot, though.