Do you let your kids go on inflatables in the sea?

[SnugglyJumpersMakeItBetter]

I have second-hand trauma from watching this:

The fact that dad was literally RIGHT THERE with them and they were just playing in the shallows and then, Whoosh, gone. It's crazy.

Absolutely not. Inflatables are for swimming pools, not the unpredictable sea conditions.

We’ve must come back from the beach and two large families arrived with inflatables later in the afternoon. The sea was becoming quite choppy by then and these kids and their parents were being thrown about in the water and they were also the only ones swimming outside of the red/yellow flags. The lifeguards put a message on the loudspeaker to move inside the flags which they ignored; a lifeguard also went and spoke to them about the inflatables and to move inside the flags - they also ignored them. What can you do if people simply don’t care?

We did as kids in the 70's but I didn't let my children. I only let them swim in the sea if I was in swimming with them when they were younger.

No inflatables in the sea but I’ve allowed kids to use them on lakes in France. Recently kayaked in the Med (quite far from shore) with life jackets and used paddle board in sheltered bay (no life jacket). Kids are now young adults.

No. I live by the sea and have family and friends who are on the Lifeboat.

Anyone who lets their child on an inflatable in the sea is a fool. We have folks (mostly children) drowned every year. People should educate themselves about the dangers if they are going on holiday somewhere and don't realise what local conditions are like.

No local round here would ever buy their kids an inflatable.

Definitely not!

Surely inflatables are just for use in swimming pools…well that’s where we use them!

Well, that opened up a can of worms.

Apparently I was rescued by the coast guard (I don’t remember that at all), but dad hoped I had forgotten, and it’s just come out that he never told my mum!

Both parents now in their very late 80s. I would have been about 7 at the time. Mum is now not speaking to dad 😬

Absolutely not. Coastal town with lifeboat station and they are often extolling the tragedies that this can cause.

I live near the sea too and absolutely not! We are very sea savvy around here as it can get choppy most locals understand rip tides, floating if in trouble using bouys and dressing appropriately. We were at our local beach today and everyone were in wetsuits and were doing activities within sight of the lifeguards definitely no inflatables!

No. Only irresponsible thickies let kids do that.

Saw some kids in the sea last week with inflatable rings, the lifeguard was watching them like a hawk. The mum was smiling at them indulgently from the beach like an idiot.

Never. I wouldn't entertain "just rock pools", either (too much temptation to enter open water "just this once"). Inflatables are for a pool, with close supervision, only.

Onshore wind, yes. Offshore wind no.

The wind can flip round in seconds! Would your kids even know that had happened?

No, never.

No, absolutely not.

No, never. Don’t own an inflatable. We live by the sea and swim year round.

That said, I would like to take of few of the idiot tourists with their bodyboards and their GoPros who have nearly drowned me on many occasions and put them on an inflatable and give them a good shove off into offshore winds. 🙄

They're both keen sailors, so yes, but I'd be down there first. And I'm not sure the wind does flip around it seconds. Or at least I've never know it to. Clearly if the forecast looks variable it might be a concern.

The main time you'd get a true 180 switch in wind direction would be a thermal land/sea breeze and that takes time and the conditions are obvious long before it happens.

Oh god, what a day your dad is having 🤣

No, we live by the sea. All dc attended surf club as children and were all taught the dangers of the sea.

Oops!

If your kids are competitive sailors then surely you have seen lots of races abandoned mid-race because the wind has shifted so far round that the course is no longer viable? As you will know, junior races are generally 45 mins max, so it happens well within that time. I know absolutely nothing about sailing and wind, but I've seen this happen multiple times to DS on the race course.

Omg!

No. I consider it too risky.

No way!
I read a book in primary school (in the 70s) called ‘Aristide’ about a French boy who blew across the English Channel on a lilo, and it freaked me out!

No, absolutely not. Was never allowed as a child in the 80s/90s, either. I did have a boogie board but with strict instructions to stay within the flags and within my depth, as it's so easy to float out to sea.

I have never seen a race abandoned due to a wind shift. I've seen races delayed while they change a course before the start, but once started, IME the race carries on regardless of wind shifts. (Think about it, every single gust will bring a shift in direction of some kind.)

..and we're talking about 30 degree shifts not instantaneous ~180s.

Again, think about it, you'd anchor over night in the Lee of land with open sea behind you. If unexpected ~180° ships were common we'd all have regular disturbed nights and 2am moves. (And I'm not saying that never happens, but again, we're not talking about speedy changes, and there's usually indication in the forecast. The only times it's happened to me in a seriously problematic way have been thermal wind of one variety or another, and pretty gradual.)