Lifejacket

You'll notice that further down in my sidebar is an invitation to visit Hurricane Point. This is the place our family just purchased in the fall. It is an old cottage on a beautiful lake in Canada. Anyway, with spring around the corner we are busy trying to get things ready for a relaxing summer holiday. I don't know exactly how relaxing it will actually be having a two year old spend an extended summer vacation on 195 ft. of shoreline. We are busy retrofitting a few safety items in and around the cottage. Door alarms, locking gates, a totally enclosed deck, and a metal gate at the dock. That's where we have started. The next thing was making the list of rules that all the kids were going to have to follow, like rule #1, if Will is outside of the cottage he must be wearing a lifejacket. No ifs ands or buts. Always.


So, with rule#1 in mind I set out researching lifejackets. Will has sported lifejackets before, usually in dry, safety precaution conditions. When I had taken Will to the moms and tots swimming lessons and he wore a traditional jacket, I noticed that he rather enjoyed planting his face forward into the water, curious as to what was down there I guess. This scenario is not great if a child is wearing a traditional lifejacket. That padded flap on the back of a lifejacket's neck is supposed to turn a kiddo on their back and keep their face out of water, however it is not always the case and a child's weight distribution and activity level in the water can actually roll them and hold them on their face. Each child should try a few different lifejackets to ensure that they find one that is suited best for them.







For instance, Will is now at 29lbs. At 30lbs. most lifejackets are at their weight capacity and it is time to move up into what, in most cases, is a life vest. A life vest will not help a child hold their head out of water. I have been searching for a lifejacket that has a weight capacity of up to 35lbs. I came upon a Canadian company that makes jackets just for differently-abled people. They make a jacket that has most of it's floatation pads in a circle around the shoulders, keeping all faces out of the water! That seems like a good idea for Will. It also gives more room around the body for freedom of motion to learn kicking, strokes and treading water.


I thought I would provide a link to the company here, so you can check it out for yourself. They are pricey, but I wonder, since they are an adaptive tool, they might qualify for some sort of grant. Your local pool might also consider purchasing 1 or 2 if children with disabilities are regular visitors. It seems the company sells mostly to organizations, schools etc.

image: Lifejacket-Adapted inc.