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Ever heard of water babies? Some parents spend a lot of money in special swim classes to teach a baby to float on the back to make the baby water
safe. A TYPE II life vest accomplishes that same. The Type II rating means that the head pillow and vest design facilitates this head up floatation in the water. The most important consideration when shopping
for life vests for infants is is to buy a TYPE II infant life vest, which is one that will snuggle your baby's head up and out of the water when your baby is floating in the in the water.
A baby life vest
must be strapped down snug to be safe. The infant may complain about a snug fit, but what is more important when you are boating, comfort or safety? The soft neoprene makes it easy to get this snug fit because it
feels like cotton. Softness is important when you shop for an infant pfd.
The Coast Guard recommends waiting until your baby is about 15 lbs before taking them on a boat, canoe, or any other watersport
activity. Infants, by law, must have a properly fitted infant life jacket. Swim diapers or any other floatation devices are not compliant with the law and not safe for infants.
The Coast Guard recommends NOT
strapping babies into a car seat in your boat or using any other non Coast Guard approved device. This makes sense because if the boat capsizes, you want everybody, including your infant, floating safely in the
water with a life vest.
Many retailers sell inflatable infant life vests. You will find inflatable vests in the emergency lockers of passenger boats and airlines. These are not safe for boating. These vests
are found on some passenger boats and airlines because they take up less space and are used in a pre announced emergency. In most boating activities, you will not hear the captain or stewardess announce the
emergency. It will happen unexpectedly without warning. In addition, these are not safe for infants because most parents, for comfort reasons, will not inflate the vest in advance. When an emergency happens, there
is no time to inflate the vest. A toddler can walk off a boat dock and fall in the water in a split second. A skiboat accident can happen in the blink of an eye. A wake from another large boat can cause a child or
infant to go overboard without warning. Inflatable vests, unarguably, are not safe for boating or other active watersports. We recommend never to buy inflatable life vests for infants.
Another consideration is the ability of the vest to stay on the infant when the baby is in the water. It is essential for an infant life vest to have a crotch strap to prevent the
infant from slipping out of the vest when in the water. This is also a required feature for child vests. You can test this by putting on the vest and picking up the vest by the loop in the head pillow near the neck.
If the vest slips completely off the infant or toddler, you have the wrong type of life vest, or perhaps you forgot to snap on the crotch strap).
Be safe. Safety should not be compromised by buying cheap life vests for infants or the inflatable infant life jacket. This applies for everyone in your family. Choose the best for
safety. For babies, absolutely, without question, buy the best quality Neoprene TYPE-II vest with the crotch strap and head pillow, US Coast Guard Approved (USCGA). These letters, USCGA, will appear in the label of
the toddler life vest. The material will say neoperene, not nylon
If you are buying a vest for for boating or canoeing in Canada, is a Canadian Coast Guard Approved standard. US Coast Guard Approved vests have higher standards than Canadian Coast
Guard Approved Vests, so if you are not a a rental agency in Canada worried about legal issues in Canada, you will be perfectly safe in a US Coast Guard Approved vest when boating in Canada.
Water Ski World
had done the research to find the best life jackets for infants. We highly recommend and sell the Competition Zone, HO Infant Neoprene Life Vest, Hyperlite and the Kidder Infant Neoprene Life vest. The Evolution and
Competition Zone Infant Life jackets are identical in quality and design when compared to the Kidder Infant Life Vest and an equal choice. The Hyperlite, Kidder, Competition Zone and Evolution baby life vests are
soft neoprene and US coast guard approved.
Of course we must provide our disclaimer here. The buyer is responsible for choice, fit, and use of any life vest purchased at Water Ski World for himself or
his or her child or infant. By purchasing through this site, the buyer acknowledges this fact and accepts the waiver of any liability against Water Ski World. Please boat safely and always wear your vest, and always
strap a life vest down snug.
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