When our three-year-old daughter is not afraid in a bathing suit! Splash around, chase waves, and laugh in sheer delight. She covers her nose while “wetting” herself, then jumps up to “surprise” us … a new version of the game of hide and seek. While I’m excited that she’s brave, confident, and loves to explore, I still … wonder … will she be safe? As a parent, I pay attention to too many heartbreaking stories about moms distracted for just a moment, sometimes sitting within arm’s reach of their child, but the child drowns; a terrible accident; a reminder that drowning is often quiet and undramatic.
I have a Puddle Jumper tied around my daughter’s chest (an improvement on the well-known water wings or inflatable armbands that keep kids afloat in the water), but is it enough? The Puddle Jumper is a US Coast Guard Approved Type III Personal Flotation Device As I keep wondering about my daughter’s safety, I’m curious what does “US Coast Guard Approved” mean? “? It sounds impressive, like a prestigious endorsement. A product that has this seal of approval must signify that the product is good and will therefore keep my daughter safe. This was my thought when I bought the Puddle Jumper.
But now that the word “endorsement” echoed in my mind, I wondered what the phrase “Approved by the United States Coast Guard” really meant. My free associations with the word “endorsement” conjured up uncomfortable images: political endorsements, which I rarely trust; TV commercials featuring public figures or worse, Hollywood actors endorsing products and services. Oh! Have I been too naive? Have I blindly accepted an “endorsement” presented by the United States Coast Guard? Have I put my daughter at risk?
What it means: Approved by the US Coast Guard.
Who can we trust as “experts” in children and water safety? Who should we turn to as an authority on how accidents happen and how to prevent them? Who is duly esteemed and who has sufficient credentials to speak about the seriousness of my concern … the breath of life of our little ones, our sons, my daughter? I admit, for me the United States Coast Guard was the only agency that came to mind, but not because I personally investigated its integrity.
To ease the anxiety my free associations were causing, that is, my growing distrust of a “endorsement” presented by the US Coast Guard and a widely used “endorsement” by retailers who sell and therefore , advertise the Puddle Jumper, I needed to know exactly what “backup” meant.
I was surprised when I found out that the Coast Guard was willing to point out a “better” life jacket. However, upon reading further, I found that the “best” personal flotation device was described only in a generic way and with attached conditions.
The “best,” says the Coast Guard, is:
- The one you’re willing to wear!
- The one that saves your life every time you need it.
- The one that adapts to your needs!
In the next paragraph, the Coast Guard voiced an irritating issue: “The perfect life jacket, life jacket or PFD (personal flotation device) has not yet been designed.” Not even the United States Coast Guard was a definitive and unique authority.
Also, I learned that with a particular lifejacket “approved” as “Approved by the US Coast Guard” comes an attached “Think Safety” brochure. The booklet is an integral component of the endorsement. When I bought my daughter’s Puddle Jumper I hadn’t even read the brochure.
The seal of approval plus the “Think Safe” brochure equates to the full meaning of: Approved by the US Coast Guard One cannot be separated from the other.
The “Think Safe” brochure is a list of conditions that the Coast Guard attaches to the approval of a particular personal flotation device. Using the Stearns Puddle Jumper as an example: The Stearns Puddle Jumper is Coast Guard approved …
- If the child using it weighs between 30 and 60 pounds.
- If the water is calm and / or if the body of water is an interior body.
- Or if there is a good chance of a quick rescue in or around the body of water.
Also, when it comes to kids and selecting a life jacket, the Coast Guard offers more tips:
- You must teach your children how to properly use a PFD.
- The PFD should fit a child comfortably.
- Purchased PFD must be tested immediately after purchase: in a pool and on the child who will use it.
- PFDs are not babysitters; an adult must always be present.
You must teach your children how to properly use a PFD
The Coast Guard knows that children panic when they suddenly fall into the water. The suddenness of the fall causes the arms and legs to swing violently, making it difficult to float safely in a PFD. While the PFD will keep the child afloat, it may not keep a struggling child on their back. I remembered reading an anecdote about the Stearns Puddle Jumper; a parent had a “swimmer who was just learning” and she said, “She (the child) had to learn in the first few times (of using the Puddle Jumper) how to use it … she would have to balance to keep her face out of the water “.
The PFD should fit a child comfortably
To check for a good fit, the Coast Guard recommends lifting the child by the shoulders of the life jacket. Since the Puddle Jumper doesn’t have a shoulder section, I could test it by lifting my daughter up by the Puddle Jumper’s chest piece, then go ahead and do the perfect fit test. In any case, a child’s chin and ears should not slide through the flotation device.
Purchased PFD must be tested immediately after purchase
The Coast Guard cites the obvious. They point out that children come in many sizes and shapes and therefore just because one PFD will work for one infant or child does not mean it will work for another in the same way. Therefore, the Coast Guard urges that PFDs be tested immediately after purchase – test in a pool and with the child who will be wearing the PFD. They urge parents and guardians of children to check three things:
- Suitable weight range
- Comfortable fit
- (And especially) A stable face-up position in the water.
PFDs are not babysitters
The US Coast Guard reminds parents and guardians, more than once, never to leave a child unsupervised on a dock, in a boat, or in the water, even if the child is in a PFD.
Conclusion: lessons learned
It was good and right to reconsider my mindless purchase of the Puddle Jumper. While the Puddle Jumper is a good product, I had simply bought the “hype” on the labels: “Approved by the US Coast Guard.” He had uncritically relied on a “endorsement” presented by an unknown authority, namely the United States Coast Guard. The blind trust I exercised by purchasing the Puddle Jumper left my daughter vulnerable because she was unaware of my role and responsibility for how to safely use the product she had purchased.
Products approved by the US Coast Guard are great, but read the accompanying “Think Safety” brochures.