Life Jackets for Children & Babies

Life jackets for children

- Make sure your child is safe on board - 

Foam buoyancy aid or automatic life jacket?

Life jackets for children are available on the market from a variety of suppliers, who offer life jackets in various models and designs. There are also types that inflate automatically or not. Find out here if you should opt for a foam bouyancy aid for your child or a special automatic life jacket for children.

Advantages of a foam PFD:

- Robust
- Low maintenance
- Lower price
- Does not activate in the water, so can also be used for playing on the beach or riding in an inflatable boat

Advantages of an automatic life jacket for children:

- Excellent for flotation and the buoyancy chamber holds the child's head more securely than foam jackets. 
- Automatic life jackets offer more buoyancy than foam-filled inherrently buoyant life jackets.
- Cartridge and tablet can be replaced manually and checked regularly.
- Better freedom of movement on board
- Much more comfortable to wear in warm weather

From what age/weight can my child start using an automatic life jacket?

Foam-filled life jackets for children are available for kids weighing just 5-10 kg.

The smallest automatic life jacket for toddlers is available for small children from 15 kg, i.e. from 2.5 - 3 years.

What's important when choosing a life jacket for my child?

Be sure to buy a life jacket that is the right size, as there are differences between models. When choosing, not only is body weight important, but also the fit and the accessories that come with it, such as a crotch strap (2) or harness, a D-ring (1) to attach a safety line, etc. If the life jacket is too big, the child could slip out of it and won't be safe in the water. If it doesn't have enough buoyancy, the baby could end up not being turned onto its back and won't be able to breathe. Children's life jackets should therefore be unconcious-safe, have a signal whistle (3), reflective strips and crotch strap. Life jackets should be DIN EN ISO certified! Check for this and then choose the jacket that suits your needs.

Which type of chidren's life jacket is suitable for which purpose?

Regatta life jackets for children

 - Not only for yachting -

You should know how and where your child will be wearing its life jacket. Are you planning to take your 6 year old sailing, motor boating or maybe even stand up paddle boarding on a lake? Then a comfortable and above all flexible and non-obstructive regatta life jacket without a large collar is perfect. 

Unconscious-safe PFDs

- The favourite of many parents -

If you want to take your baby or small child on board, you should make sure you have a personal flotation device with a large collar to which you can possibly even attach a safety line. This way, if the sea gets rough you can always hook your little one onto something in the cockpit if you are worried about him or her going overboard. After all, prevention is the best remedy.

A foam-filled life jacket is the perfect all-rounder for toddlers. Unlike an automatic life jacket, it will not activate upon contact with water, so children can wear one when playing on the jetty or at the beach and it won't spontaneously trigger. These life jackets are also perfect if you are riding in a dinghy. When buying, make sure that your device has a V-shaped neckline at the front. This helps to keep the child's face free even if the jacket slips.

On longer trips, automatic life jackets are more suitable for children and toddlers from the age of 3.

Automatic life jackets for children

- The right choice for offshore sailing -

If you're taking your child out to sea and not afraid of a strong winds, then an ergonomically shaped automatic life jacket for children is ideal. These can be worn comfortably all day on board and offer optimum safety - even offshore. As they have higher buoyancy, these automatic life jackets ensure that your child turns on its back and that its head is kept safely and securely above the water.

Life jackets for babies

What kind of life jackets for babies are there? 

There are life jackets for babies from a body weight of 3 kg, but to be honest, such devices make little sense. The smallest babies don't have the strength to support their own heads yet, so putting a life jacket on them won't really do much to make them safer. Instead, it's better to carry your baby safely on your chest or leave it below deck in a Maxi Cosi or other child carrier designed for this purpose.

It's different for babies who can already sit and can support their own body weight better. Here, a lifejacket for infants that is appropriate to their age not only provides safety for the child, but also for the parents. When buying a lifejacket for toddlers, however, make sure that it fits well. You can find information on this on our website.

Drowning occurs differently in children than in adults, among other things completely silently. This is because children have a so-called diving reflex in which their breath is reflexively held when they come into contact with water. If the child does not get air quickly enough, the reflex cannot be released and the child suffocates. This diving response can be regarded as an important defence mechanism for the body to prevent children from drowning. But it can have devestating consequences in water sports.

Don't take any chances and keep babies in a really safe place until they are old enough to hold themselves up and move around on board.

How do I put a lifejacket on my child correctly?

Your life jacket should have a waist belt and crotch strap. When putting it on, it is essential to make sure that it fits properly and is not too loose. Otherwise, it will not serve its purpose and won't hold the life jacket on the child's body. Also, make sure that the children's life jacket has a V-neck, i.e. it does not close too tightly under the chin at the front. That way, if the child does fall into the water, it will have enough space to breathe. Last but not least, when choosing the right life jacket, you should not only consider the weight of the child, but also the weight of any wet clothing. A good life jacket must also be able to support this.

In our shop you will find automatic children's lifejackets or inflatable lifejackets for children from 15 kg from various manufacturers such as Kadematic, Spinlock or SECUMAR. Life jackets for babies are available from 3 kg, but we recommend using them only for toddlers.