Child Overboard.

[keyspc]

My kids have to wear life jacket while on deck . And are tethered while under way even though Stephen won a blue ribbon for freestyle.
When we got this boat he was 5(now 12). I made him jump off bow, get in dink, pull himself in, and jump again five times a day.
Even Tommy now five could get to dinghy and hang on at three.
Practice,practise and more practise, till if they fall over at night they'll wake up in morning wondering if they wet the bed or left the hatch open

[valhalla360]

I'm still struggling with 3 yr old on deck/dock with no adult in sight. Way too easy not to hear the splash and a lifejacket won't stop hypothermia which will happen a lot quicker with a small body.

[GalaxyGirl]

I have been wondering about my youngest son, who is soon to turn 4.

Would a safety harness work when the are on deck. That way you could just grab the rope and pull them right out.

[goboatingnow]

No doubt they key is to stop the mother jumping in, Had one of those on a cold lake , nearly lost her!. ( The child was fine and easy to retrieve).

dave

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by GalaxyGirl

I have been wondering about my youngest son, who is soon to turn 4.

Would a safety harness work when the are on deck. That way you could just grab the rope and pull them right out.

A harness without a rope, might be a good idea. Tying him off to the boat...

Go thru all the potential unintended consequences. We had a canadian goose commit suicide this spring when it got a rope wrapped around it's neck and it fell off the boat while we were away.

[Sailor g]

Thank you for sharing your story. Lots of ideas are coming forward to maybe help having a child aboard safer & easier.

I also had to learn the fall off, swim to stern, get up ladder method. It provides that automatic response that all aboard should try. Falling off happens when you least expect it. I'm not sure keeping a child on a tether with jack lines is the answer. The child that goes in will remember that and be much more conscious of the danger. You may be the next instead! Make sure the ladder works for all.

I agree it would help in stopping the mom from jumping in but as a mother myself...good luck with that, changing that instinct borne from eons of mothers before her! Although, seeing how hard it was to get up may give her that reminder!

Best of Luck!
Gloria

[zeehag]

one tethers self and pets--why not tether the kids--is only safer.....kids climb overnetting and splash.
reliable kid tethering will save lives....


omg it s so mean to tether a kid--rodlmao=---tether the kid. that way that kid will be alive when you are old and needing his or her help.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by zeehag

one tethers self and pets--why not tether the kids--is only safer.....kids climb overnetting and splash.
reliable kid tethering will save lives....

omg it s so mean to tether a kid--rodlmao=---tether the kid. that way that kid will be alive when you are old and needing his or her help.

Most smaller kids are klutzes. The harnesses and tethers wrap around them and trip.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Most smaller kids are klutzes. The harnesses and tethers wrap around them and trip.

they train easier than pets, so...loss is a little omore difficultto handle when your kid goes splash--tethr or lose..is easy. train kids to be aware of the tether. if a cat can do it, so can a kid. i know=--btdt....other souls have lost kids because of no tethers--is sad to hear a parent diss tethers for kids.
your loss is going to be hard to handle for you. be safe.

[Abrain]

Again our son is 3 and truthfully I'm lucky he loves his life jacket. That said there is now way in hell he will allow us to tether him to our boat. He is very active and the line obstructs his movements.

Apparently I'm old school in my logic these days and want him to experience some things in life like scratches, bruises and perhaps earn a few scars while growing up, then again I don't want him to die ( my tax write off ). Ok bad family joke but my point is he is 3 and he needs to learn the good and the bad.

We watch him closely, give him slack if its within reason or strict when it's not and falling off the dock was sort of something we knew he had to do.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by zeehag

they train easier than pets, so...loss is a little omore difficultto handle when your kid goes splash--tethr or lose..is easy. train kids to be aware of the tether. if a cat can do it, so can a kid. i know=--btdt....other souls have lost kids because of no tethers--is sad to hear a parent diss tethers for kids.
your loss is going to be hard to handle for you. be safe.

You can't "train" a 3 year old to have the motor skills and dexterity of a 6 year old. They don't have the biology regarding their neuro-muscular system.

And to be honest I'd rather have my daughter fall in the water than go head first through the companionway and get a brain injury. Drowning is the most obvious problem on the water but concussions, burns, and poisoning seem to be a more constant problem.

There are a lot of safeguards around drowning but the boat lurching at the same time a sheet trips can give a long term brain injury. And that can happen 24/7 in the cabin or on deck.

[zeehag]

i love it---my cat is smarter than a child...tethers save lives. i pity you when --not if--but WHEN you suffer your loss....
if my gato can handle a tether, so can a child. safety is safety. cuts burns and scratches are not death or vegetable state. i have seen both and the parents reactions in each.
is easier to be safe than to replace a child. granted the practice of making one is fun, but..i think you may wish to splain it to momma after the kid is gone.

toddlers learn faster than gatos or dogs. if you RESPECT your loved ones, you will tether them into boat--especially during opassages and rough anchorages..oh i forgot--rebel doesnt DO anchorages.....

[keyspc]

Originally Posted by GalaxyGirl

I have been wondering about my youngest son, who is soon to turn 4.

Would a safety harness work when the are on deck. That way you could just grab the rope and pull them right out.

Mine was a monkey from they day he was born! no really he could climb before he could walk!
His favourite colour was yellow (maybe too many curious George books?) so,, both jacket and harness are yellow!
Some kids that start on land have a favourite character like Dora or sponge bob, helps a lot to get that character inland runabout vest(walmart,Amazon or the like)
I made a HUGE deal of the life jacket, gave it to him on his birthday and let him put stickers on it. He was so proud he like OP's didn't want to take it off after getting in.

The harness took some trickery. But the one that worked, was putting it on unclipped and letting him hold dogs leash. it took a Long time for him to get used to it.

If i lived at a marina when he was small I'd darn sure would have taken him to
Swim lessons like we did for his brother. http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class...ights/swimming


BTW my sig picture is us in 50kn gusting 75kn right after swimming in when bow of dinghy came off and main anchor snapped. both kids swam to dock in foreground. older boy said it was like rough day at beach! take them to beach every time you can even on a rough day or two. get them used to water!

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I'm still struggling with 3 yr old on deck/dock with no adult in sight. Way too easy not to hear the splash and a lifejacket won't stop hypothermia which will happen a lot quicker with a small body.

I agree with this completely. Our daughter was with us aboard the yacht from the time she was a few weeks old and there is no way I would have allowed her alone on deck or the adjoining dock without adult supervision at 3 years, even if wearing a life-vest and/or tether. We allowed our daughter to attend the school of hard knocks too, but not so much so that the consequences could have been other than very minor.

[Group9]

When my daughter was about four, I bought her a life jacket that had flotation, but also had additional automatic inflation flotation if immersed.

I always wonder if it would work, until she was leaning over the side of the boat one day, and a wave hit her and PFFT! At least we know it worked.

I don't think boats are nearly as dangerous for kids as swimming pools are. At least with boats, you are there, near them, and aware of what is going on. I don't know a single kid who has drowned while boating. Unfortunately, I know a couple who drowned in swimming pools.