Stearns Child Life Jacket with Heads-Up Flotation, USCG Approved Type II Kids Life Vest for Pool, Beach, Lake, Boating & More, Youth PFD

I bought 2 of these last summer for my 3 & 5 year old and I LOVE them (so do my kids!) it makes all of us feel at ease, it fits them perfectly around the chest and the strap that goes between there legs make them feel extra secure. Both my boys are still learning to swim so this has helped them feel safer in the water and also if we go out on the boat I can feel much better knowing they have such a high quality life jacket. The material seems very high quality, and the weight/sizing seems spot on. I overall give 15/10 this has exceeded our expectations and I highly recommend!

I did some research before buying a life vest for my son, and I appreciated the positive reviews and certifications this life vest came with. It feels like it’s going to last many swim trips, probably more than we are going to be able to go on before my son reaches the 50lb weight limit. It has a nice little cushion on the crotch strap and all of the buckles feel tight and firm. This specific life vest id designed for children who are not yet confident swimmer, so the back headrest helps to keep their heads afloat. I also appreciated the safety cards that it came with, as it just went over the importance of wearing a life vest and shared some statistics, like how 80% of people who tragically died from falling overboard a small boat did not have a life vest of some sort. It truly does save lives. I’d buy this again!

Update: I had originally purchased the "child" sized vest for my daughter, and have liked it so much that I just purchased the "youth" size for her as she is now outgrowing the smaller one (she is just over 50 lbs now). We use a more compact vest for fun at the beach or pool under supervision, but I do not think you can beat this vest for boating with a child. I really like the strap between the legs to keep her secure, the pull handle on the back so I can grab/wrangle her if needed, and that it forces her to float on her back with her head out of the water. Original: I purchased this for my daughter who is just over 30 pounds and has just started learning to swim. After some research, I decided I needed a few criteria for a child's life vest: it had to be Type II rated (this makes the person wearing it float face up even if they cannot swim or are unconscious) , it needed a grab handle, and it needed good adjustment straps for a snug fit as well as a strap between the legs so it could not slide up over her head. This product is one of the few I could find that covered all my requirements. I also like the very bright green color for safety visibility as well. We have not used it boating yet, but my wife took the vest with our daughter to her swimming class this morning and the instructor said he would rate this vest a 10 out of 10 for a child's safety. The instructor took her in the water and she floated comfortably on her back with no effort at all. Again, my daughter is just over 30 pounds, and the adjustment straps made for a perfect fit with room to grow (she is just at the bottom of the rating for this vest which is 30-50 lbs). I would not recommend this for a child smaller than 30 pounds, but it does seem perfectly sized for the range it is rated at, with good adjustment range. The vest zips up the front to keep it securely closed, then the three straps (two around the torso and one between the legs) can be adjusted to keep the vest exactly where it needs to be while remaining comfortable. I used the grab handle on the back to pick my daughter up off the floor (which she thought was fun, so it was not uncomfortable) and she did not slide down in the vest at all. The back flotation pad sits across the shoulders, out of the way, but floats up behind the head when in the water.

Great product...made very well!!

After hours of investigating and comparing different life jackets this is the one I settled on. Bright color, type ll turns them on their back while still allowing some mobility to learn to swim. it has the head rest and handle to pull them out. Bottom strap to protect against slipping out. My twins are 20 month old the are big boys at 31 & 33 lbs so I went with the child size that’s recommended for 30+ lb. it fits well.

I was unsure if I really wanted to get this. We live in a studio apartment with no access to water and go to the beach maybe twice in the summer. Most of the time it's once. So I really was unsure about spending $42 on something my daughter would maybe use once. Plus, I never wore a life jacket on the beach so did she really need it? However, given that my daughter is around water once a year and I haven't gotten her swimming lessons yet (I'm hoping to), I sucked up the money and bought this. Best decision I could have made. I am SO grateful I bought this life vest. I went to Point Pleasant Beach in NJ today with my 3 year old daughter and my friend. The tide was coming in, the waves were rough, and we were standing at the edge of where the water reached (up to ankle deep on my daughter). I was holding my daughter by the handle on top of her life jacket, my friend held her hand. Out of nowhere, a six foot wave crashed four feet from us. The wave was powerful, the water was fast, and my daughter was immediately submerged in 4 feet of rough water. My daughter's hand was ripped from my friend's grip but I had a tight hold on the handle and immediately jerked the handle up. My daughter's head came out of the water within 5 seconds. The bouyancy of the life vest also helped keep her up. The water was still rushing so my friend grabbed my daughter's hand again and helped hold her up even higher. I had just started to process what happened when the undertow came, ripped my daughter out of my friend's hand again, and yanked me forward. I still had my grip on the handle and held with all my might (this time with 2 hands) as my daughter was being dragged feet first towards the sea. I kept a hold on her and eventually we were back out of the water. We immediately went up to the dry sand and checked her over. She was fine and mostly oblivious to the danger (mildly upset that sand was in her eyes). Two 20 year old men that had been next to us (they were standing where the wave broke) literally crawled out of the water coughing about a minute later. One said to us, "That undertow was the worst I've ever been in. I thought I was going to drown. Thank God your kid didn't get caught in it." They left the beach still coughing. I am SO thankful I bought this. Best money I ever spent. I still have my daughter. If I never use it again, it was worth it. If your child can't swim, please buy this and have them where it until they learn how to swim.

Would buy again. Our grandson who is autistic and at 3, is 48lbs felt relax laying on his back with the extra floating piece. I would give it a 5 however more of a wish that they could design one that prevents thre child from going forward with his head.

I've had this life jacket for 3 summers now, and used it extensively for 3 different kids, starting as soon as they weigh more than 30lb. It's holding up well - a little faded, but no rips/tears/worn spots/any other sign of deterioration. It is the ONLY USCG approved Type II life jacket I can find on Amazon for kids in the 30-50lb range. I prefer Type II until my kids can swim independently, as Type III are not designed to turn a user face-up in the water. I also prefer to have a grab strap while boating, which is very hard to find but this life jacket has it. My kids are fairly skinny and it fits them well, adjusts tight enough that they do not slip out. The straps have plenty of slack in them, so I imagine it will fit a larger kid too. None of my kids are over 50lb yet, but I've moved them into life jackets without the head support once I'm confident in their ability to turn themselves over if needed (and because the next sibling needs this life jacket!). It still fits my 47lb 49 inch 6 year old, though.

Se nota la calidad del producto, importante seguir las recomendaciones y enseñar a tu niño a saber usar el soporte para la cabeza adecuadamente, el asa extra para los papás es muy útil.

Muy bueno y a muy buen precio de muy buena calidad. Lo recomiendo muy ampliamente para enseñar a nadar a los niños

Muy buen producto, cumple sin problema las expectativas. La recomiendo.