Safety question

[mraz72]

My daughter loves diving off the back of the boat in deep water. Last year I started thinking, what if she hits her head on the way in and doesn't resurface? Then I thought, she should probably wear a life jacket, although diving with a life jacket isn't fun.

What do you guys do with your children in deep water?

 

[CAM212SS]

for me it would depend on the age.

 

[mraz72]

shes 12, going to be 13 before next summer

 

[Julian]

I always verify the depth myself or have them do it before anyone dives....unless you can see how deep it is, or you know the area so well you are confident on the depth. Rule of thumb I follow (if depth gauge shows deeper than 8')....jump in feet first the first time....make sure you don't touch anything...then dive.

 

[mraz72]

I don't have a problem with knowing the depth, I am wondering about a life jacket. I don't want my daughter to NOT come up after a dive.

We are in 100 feet of water

 

[Bruce]

I don't want my daughter to NOT come up after a dive.

People are buoyant. Not enough to avoid drowning but enough that even if unconscious we still surface from dives. Scuba diving requires a weight belt to sink to the bottom.

We allow our 9 year old who is a good swimmer to jump from the boat into sufficient water depth without a life jacket but require our less capable 7 year old to wear a life jacket.

 

[mraz72]

Good to know Bruce, just concerned, if she didn't come up, in 100 feet, no way I can get her.

 

[Bruce]

@Michael Rasmussen, It certainly is a scary thought but not a common cause of drowning. I have never heard of anyone not coming back up after diving into the water.

 

[2nazt]

I do a lot of Freediving and have taken many courses. I would always have them jump with some kind of supervision. Even by the off chance of a blackout with a vest and no extra weights at for some how they made it 10' they could still no come up. If they do sink it would be nothing drastic but you want supervision. If they are solid swimmers I would not worry but I would only allow with another person watching in water basically unless it is clear and the observer can easily enter the water.

My nieces love jumping in and either my wife, brother or myself have to be observing. They still enjoy also jumping with the life jacket and doing cannonballs and stuff though.

 

[mraz72]

I guess we'll go without a life jacket while diving.

I don't think anything will happen, just wanted to make sure I am being as safe as possible.

 

[Shuck Water]

I'm a stickler about everyone that jumps off my boat have a life jacket. My rule is for two reasons, 1) Water clarity is only 12-18 inches. 2) My lake has a tendency to eat about 6-8 people per year.

 

[AZDANSX230HO]

We have a life jacket rule if you are going in the water period, our boat, our rules!! On the boat if above the legal age limit we do not require life jackets while under way or stopped. People may be the best swimmers in the world, but you never know what could happen and I do not want anyone drowning on my watch.

 

[Bruce]

When I was teenager I would walk to our dock, jump into the water, swim half a mile to the neighborhood park hang out there then walk home on the hot asphalt all without a life jacket or shoes.

 

[Crlos16]

I have a rule for both of my girls 9 & 12 years old, as soon as they get in the boat while waiting to launch they must for find there life jackets and put them on, and must have it on all times even when we anchor at our favorite spot that I'm think I'm pretty familiar with 35-45ft deep.
Only time they take there life jackets off is when we anchor near the island and is only 5ft deep.

So I would say keep the life jacket on when diving, better to have peace of mind.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

When my kids were growing up we spent a lot of time on the boat and in 18 foot deep water behind a local island with a strong current, if they went in the water they had a life jacket on period. They hated the rule. One day my oldest daughter was looking over the side of the boat , we were beaching , she dropped her shirt in the water by accident and it immediately disappeared due to the fast current.
She was so upset she cried about loosing the shirt, it disappeared instantly, I took that opportunity to explain to her that I did not want to cry over loosing one of them to the water and now she sees how quickly things happen and how there is nothing anyone can do about it. I had way less complaints about the life jackets for a while anyway.
Now my grandchildren have the same rules along with no bare feet in the water.

 

[tdonoughue]

Many good points made so far. Just to add my rule for your consideration... We boat only in lakes, so no current issues to speak of. My rule is that if you (a kid) are without a vest, there is an adult watching you directly. If I am going to go up into the boat and fiddle with the radio or change the oil or relax on the bow with a book, kids must have a vest on.

And, as a reminder, it is good to review that 'drowning does not look like drowning' article bookmarked on the front page at least once a year. I do...

 

[LeeFlan7]

The marina we are members of will not allow anyone under the age of 12 onto the docks without a life jacket...my children understand the rule they must wear a jacket and any guests must wear jackets too...
Safety first...we are on a river with tidal flow and nasty undercurrents...every summer people lose their lives to the river...just not worth the risk, drowning is a lot more difficult with a flotation device.

 

[KXCam22]

Always good to be safety concious. We routinely swim in 800' of water. We just watch when kids are swimming with us. We dive off the tower but all we hit is the occasional migrating salmon. Cam

 

[MrMoose]

When I was teenager I would walk to our dock, jump into the water, swim half a mile to the neighborhood park hang out there then walk home on the hot asphalt all without a life jacket or shoes.

@Bruce, you forgot to mention that it was uphill both ways.

 

[Bruce]

@Bruce, you forgot to mention that it was uphill both ways.

It was only up a very long steep hill with very hot asphalt on the way home.