Summer Water Safety Tip:
How to Fit and Borrow a Child's Life Jacket

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 17, 2009 – Summer will soon be here and for many parents, this may be the first time your family goes boating. To make sure everyone is ready, the non-profit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has three free online resources at www.BoatUS.com/foundation/LJLP/fit_video.asp to make sure the kids are safe:

How to properly fit a kid's life jacket: Having a child wear an adult or incorrectly sized life jacket could be as dangerous as having no life jacket at all, giving parents a false sense of security. A short online video explains how to fit a right-sized life jacket to your child.

How to borrow a kid's life jacket if you don't have one: Boaters don't always have every kid-sized life jacket aboard. However, the BoatUS Foundation has over 500 locations across the country – local marinas, fire departments and other waterfront businesses – where parents can borrow a kid's life jacket (in various sizes) for the day or weekend, absolutely free. The Web site allows parents to search for a Kid's Life Jacket Loaner location near them. The program loaned out over 90,000 life jackets last year, and three lives have been saved to date.

Know your state's life jacket laws: Confused about who needs a life jacket? The Web site has a state-by-state listing of life jacket regulations.

For more information on boating water safety and the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water go to www.BoatUS.com/foundation .