Hellobee Boards

I would always want LO in a life vest on a boat... But probably wouldn't feel comfortable having her on a boat until at least a year?

I'm really against any sort of flotation device in the pool/ocean, etc. Floatations devices give kids and parents a false sense of security about the water. Kids should always be very heavily supervised around bodies of water so they can't fall in, and when you are in the water with your child you should always have a hand on them.

I did not grow up on the water or boating. For that reason I feel like I'm more safety conscious than people who are more comfortable with boats (based on an incredibly small sample size). I would always have LOs in a life vest on a boat. In the pool or at the beach, so far we have not. I think once she is more comfortable in the pool a puddle jumper flotation thing would be nice so she can feel a little more independent paddling around, but it in no way would replace me being right there. Just enable her to paddle without me holding her up. She will also have real swim lessons when she is old enough to actually learn to swim.

At the beach we don't use any floatation but she is absolutely not allowed in the water without me being right there. She's more interested in the sand anyway.

I like the puddle jumper for groups with pools because even though I'm with DD, it provides a level of protection. Not that she's out there swimming on her own while I'm inside but so I'm not having to jump in the pool after her! When we're in the pool playing, I don't bother with it. On the boat, she wears a lifevest fitted to her. She first went on the speed boat on the lake at 1.5. I didn't grow up around boats so I'm a little more nervous but DH did and he's confident and safe and so is his family. I grimace when I see kiddos on boats without a lifevest.