Thank you for your question, Heather M. It's a good one.
"Should my child wear a life jacket when swimming?"
Short answer. No. Personal floatation devices (PFD) certainly have their place. Everyone should wear them when boating, and young children when playing near any body of water.
Floatation devices, however, develop a false sense of security in children when swimming. If a child always practices swimming with a PFD and without adult supervision, that child will think they can swim since no-one is assisting them.
That same child will jump into a pool without a PFD with no grown-ups insight because they believe they can swim.
Floatation devices give parents a false sense of security too. You might think that your child will be okay because they’re wearing a U.S. Coastguard approved puddle jumper, for example, but you still need to stay within arms reach and actively watch them.
It doesn’t matter whether they’re wearing a floatation device or not; children must always be under adult supervision around water.
Children can shimmy out of a puddle jumper. I know a 2-year-old who removed his puddle jumper and ended up in a pool. Thankfully, his mother got to him in time.
To prevent a false sense of security in children and develop a respect for water, enforce these two rules about swimming:
- Your child must never go near water without a grown-up.
- The adult always enters the water first before giving the signal to allow the child to enter.
These rules teach children to respect the water and understand the dangers that it possesses.
Swim lessons or practicing swimming outside of swim lessons should be conducted without PFD’s.
It’s the best way for your child to develop a feel for the water and learn to float. Floating is the second step in learning to swim, which immediately follows breath control, and it’s mastered more rapidly without a PFD.
So when you practice swimming with your child, do it without floatation devices and always stay within arms reach, actively supervising. Your child will learn respect for water. They will understand their boundaries and limitations, making it less likely that they would put themselves at risk.
