You are going cruising with the children – excellent idea!
Children’s Safety Aboard For Optimum Peace of Mind
The experience you are going to enjoy with them merits some basic precautions, so you can have peace of mind and they can be as free as possible, within the limits you fix for them.
All family sailors would agree on one point – wearing a life jacket is indispensable.
It is the very first safety measure for which there can be no exceptions. Jackets come in all sizes for all ages and, don’t worry, your children will soon get used to them. With the right size jacket, they will be able to move about the boat freely and easily and will soon forget they are wearing that second skin. The small ones will even find pleasure in jumping into the water in complete safety – when you give the OK.
All boats accepting children aboard are equipped with the second measure - a safety net that runs around the whole vessel.
A harness is a supplementary option, if you are really apprehensive or if one of your children is particularly boisterous.
Aside from the equipment, it is also important to brief the young sailors, whatever their age. As soon as they are mobile, it is as well to teach them the particular rules of moving about a boat…Never lean overboard, never try and climb up anywhere, always stay in view of an adult, never run after anything etc.
Naturally the rules have to be adapted to the ages of the children concerned. A child of 12 will get a feel for the boat by him or herself and be allowed a measure of freedom. A child of six, however well he or she swims, must always be watched over by an adult. Eight years is a transition age that still requires a certain care.
Finally, have confidence in your children and their instincts. No child is going to throw itself voluntarily from an apartment balcony, for they already have a sense of danger. Similarly, your child will soon perceive the dangers that a life afloat could represent…
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