Essential Boating Safety Tips for Families with Kids

There’s nothing like a day out on the water with family to make memories that can last a lifetime. Boating with children requires a level of precaution though to ensure that those memories are happy ones. Practicing some essential boating safety tips can help you make the most of your time on the water with your kids. 

Basic of Boating Safety Tips

As a parent, guardian, or family member who may be new to boating with children or even if you are a boating veteran looking to improve your safety practices, understanding the basics of boating safety is fundamental. 

Life Jackets

The use of personal floatation devices (PFDs), or what are better known as life jackets, is the most fundamental boating safety practice for young and old alike. Everyone in a boat should have and wear a well-fitted Coast Guard approved PFD at all times.

Florida requires that there is a properly fitting life jacket for everyone on board a boat and strongly urges everyone to wear a life jacket at all times. A life jacket that is stored in a seat will not do much good if an accident occurs. Even if you are a good swimmer, an accident can render you unconscious or fatigue can set in quicker than you think. Life jackets also make it easier for rescuers to retrieve someone from the water. Adults who wear a life jacket in a boat model this behavior for children, making it a routine part of being on the water, no questions asked.

A life jacket is meant to buoy the wearer, making a proper fit imperative. PFDs are made for different sizes and weights. A life jacket that is too big can easily slip off and one that is too small will not hold the wearer’s weight. Think snug but comfortable. Make sure the life jacket fits your child’s size and weight and does not easily rise above their head. Jackets are adjustable, so adjust it to fit your child before setting out. Children also grow and what fit them last year or even a few months ago may not fit now, so plan ahead and check that you have the right size for each child. 

In Florida, for boats 16 feet or longer, a throwable floatation device must be kept on board and readily accessible. If someone is struggling in the water, it is best to throw them a flotation device instead of jumping in to help, which can result in you being pulled under too.

Early Swimming Lessons

Another basic tip to ensure child safety on boats is teaching children to swim. Enrolling your child in swimming lessons can help them feel comfortable around water and gain valuable life-long skills. Parent-child lessons start as young as 18 months, while lessons without an adult usually start about age 4. Each child is different, so enroll them when you feel they are developmentally ready. 

Everyone, regardless of age, should acquire basic water skills that include:

• Stepping or jumping into water over your head and being able to return to the surface

• Turning yourself around in the water and orienting your location

• Floating and treading water

• Exiting the water

• Breathing while moving forward through water

Swimming lessons almost always take place in a swimming pool, yet swimming in the open water is not the same and carries different potential hazards, such as:

• Limited visibility

• Unsure depths and uneven surfaces

• Varying currents

• Dangerous undertows

Another important boating safety tip is to instill the distinction between a swimming pool and the open water in children. Teach them how these variabilities can be challenging and to protect against them.

Boating Safety Resources

The U.S. Coast Guard provides boating safety tips and recommendations that are easy to access and follow. They also offer boating safety courses to help you learn valuable boating safety lessons that you can teach your children. Also, before setting out, learn the state boating regulations for the state where you will be boating. Learning CPR and basic water rescue skills can also help you respond best in an emergency.

Boating Safety Tips for Children

Following age-specific boating safety tips can help you enjoy family boating no matter your children’s ages. For children twelve and under it is important to practice active supervision during boating and water activities. There should be an adult watching the children at all times. The adult should be focused on the children in and around the water and not on socializing, reading, drinking, fishing, texting, scrolling, or anything else that distracts from supervising the children’s activities. 

Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

The youngest children, who are most likely not the strongest swimmers, and most prone to tripping and falling, should wear their well-fitted PFDs even around docks and marinas. It is important to also note that water toys and water wings do not prevent drowning and should not be relied upon to keep young children safe. Life jackets for this age are equipped with a collar for head support and a strap between the legs to accommodate for a child’s lack of strength.

This is also an age where you can promote water safety for kids through educational water safety songs or videos that can help the water safety lessons stick by making it fun. You can watch these videos or learn these songs with your kids before setting out. 

School-Aged Children (Ages 5-12)

The older children become, the more confident they can grow around water and water activities. This can be a great thing, but it also requires extra diligence when keeping an eye out. You can instill water safety practices by modeling safe behavior. Water safety rules that apply to kids should be practiced by the adults in their sphere. They are watching and learning by example. You can also use treasure hunts, quizzes, or water games to reinforce water safety rules. Kids this age also want to know why they need to practice water safety. Letting them know the reason behind the rules, in an age-appropriate way, can help build their confidence and water safety skills. 

Teenagers

This is the age where young people may think they have more control over a situation than they might actually have or they are willing to take risks without fully understanding the consequences. This makes boating and water safety take on new importance. A sense of autonomy is important developmentally, but it needs to be balanced with clear rules and guidelines. 

Boating Safety Tips: Essential Safety Gear

Making sure you have essential safety gear for boating is a top priority no matter what, but it becomes even more essential when boating with kids. The number one safety gear, life jackets, has already been covered, but there is other boating safety gear you should always have handy when boating with children. 

First Aid Kits

Accidents happen, especially with kids. Falls, spills, and slips seem like everyday occurrences when caring for children. They move fast, do not always think before doing so, and often have not yet developed the coordination to prevent it. Being prepared for minor injuries is one of the top boating safety tips.

Before heading out, check that your first aid kit is complete with:

• Over-the-counter painkillers

• Eyewash

• Burn cream

• Cotton swabs, sterile absorbent pads, and rolled gauze

• A wide selection of adhesive bandages

• Antiseptic spray and ointment

• A foil blanket

• Tweezers

• Disposable gloves

• Alcohol wipes

All of this should be in one waterproof container that is easily accessible. 

Communication Devices

Having a device on board that allows you to communicate ship to ship or ship to shore is important, especially in case of an emergency, such as a mechanical failure, boat malfunction, an injury, or inclement weather. A Very High Frequency (VHF) radio is the most reliable communication device out on the water while a cell phone is often the most used, even though it can be less dependable with spotty reception and unreliable battery life.  

Safe Water Sports

Covering boating safety tips for kids is not complete without covering water sports. Boating with kids often includes water sports such as paddle boarding, water skiing, tubing, snorkeling, and of course, swimming. With all water sports, always set clear rules and instill safety practices consistently.

Swimming is an almost guaranteed water activity with kids, and most safety practices that apply to swimming apply to other water sports too. 

Essential safety tips include teaching kids to:

• Always swim in designated swimming areas

• Look for signs marking areas for recreation and avoid areas that post about potential hazards, such as strong currents or rocks

• Ask permission before entering the water so they do not go off swimming alone 

• Always swim with a buddy

• Signal if they are in distress 

Boating Safety Tips for Families: The Last Word

Making the most of your time on the water is the goal for any family. Following simple boating safety tips can make that time the best it can be with the least amount of risk. Teaching your children to follow safe boating practices and the reasons behind them can make your time more relaxing and enjoyable.