Puddle Jumpers: Water Safety Experts Warn it is Unsafe for Kids

Puddle jumpers are one-piece flotation devices with arm floaties attached to a chest band that clicks around kids' backs. For many parents, letting their kids wear puddle jumpers makes them more confident in the water, giving them peace of mind.

The devices are popular as they are not as bulky as life jackets, and they are easy to put on and more comfortable for the kids. It is available in usually bright colors or has animated character designs that kids love. However, despite its popularity, water safety experts warn that puddle jumpers are unsafe to use in waters as they could put your child at risk of drowning, Today's Parent reports.

Puddle jumpers are dangerous

Puddle jumpers keep children upright where the head is up, the feet down, and their arms are floating to the sides. Water safety experts call this the drowning position, citing that it is risky as kids get comfortable with it.

Instead, water safety experts recommend letting the kids get comfortable with water and encourage them to learn how to swim. Swimming classes are available for kids four to six months of age. They also recommend that once the child is comfortable with water and has learned the basics of swimming, give them life jackets instead of puddle jumpers as life jackets turn the face up from face down in case they fall in the water.

According to Motherly, the purpose of a flotation device is to prevent them from drowning, not to help a child learn how to swim.

Puddle jumpers are not traditional life jackets and may not be able to prevent drowning. On the contrary, it may even cause drowning as putting it on kids will provide parents or guardians a false sense of security when in water.

According to Pamela Fuselli, president and CEO of injury prevention non-profit Parachute, puddle jumpers are approved for boating use by Transport Canada. She told Today's Parent that she would not classify it as a toy, but it has not undergone rigorous testing and is also not made of the same material as a life jacket or Personal Flotation Device.

Dr. Sarah Denny, an associate clinical professor at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said that puddle jumpers should never replace adult supervision, which should be uninterrupted, close, and capable. Denny also advised parents not to replace swim lessons with the device. Kids would rely on puddle jumpers in the water that they may not eventually know how to swim on their own.

Misleading marketing information

Puddle jumpers claim their device is approved by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). As per Parents Preventing Childhood Drowning, puddle jumpers are USCG-approved to wear in general boating and calm, inland waters where rescue is expected to be fast. Contrary to the manufacturer's claim that the device is designed to help children learn to swim, the USCG did not approve it as a learning-to-swim device.