At what depth are rip tides a safety risk?

[Mymincepie]

Is paddling safe? Knee depth? Hip depth? Waist? I'm talking about unknown rips, not where you can obviously see one, as I'd avoid going in at all then. And with children too... is it safe for children to paddle on the beach with us, up to their hips? What depth are rip tides generally strong enough to pull you out?

I might be mistaken, but my understanding is that beaches are known or not known for rip tide/current situations, and that thus it is about understanding local conditions and swimming between the safe flags.

So they don't affect lapping waves right at the shoreline? Well that's one good thing! My children like wave jumping in the shallows (with me there).