The Day Life Jackets Become the 'Norm'
A 'change in the times' realized through my third son's remark
The other day, my family was watching TV.
Whether it was a family video from over a decade ago,
or a reenactment...
it was footage that showed what things were like back then.
When a scene of people playing in a river appeared,
my third son said quietly.
'These people are doing it wrong. They aren't wearing life jackets.'
My husband and I
exchanged glances at that remark.
At the same time, we remembered when we were little.
Back then, when playing in the river,
we never even thought about life jackets.
I don't even remember my parents telling us to wear them,
and none of the adults around us wore them either.
My third son wasn't wrong.
In fact, he was right.
But more than that,
'Times have really changed,'
I felt deeply.
Our family loves the outdoors.
We go camping, SUP, and play in rivers.
Because of that, we have
one life jacket for every family member.
Always wear a life jacket before entering the water.
This rule is strictly enforced,
and the children have taken it to heart.
So now, even without us saying anything,
they put them on naturally on their ownas a matter of course.
That casual remark from my third son
'What is considered normal changes'
was the moment he taught me that.
Survival rates when wearing a life jacket
Accidents in rivers and the ocean are by no means a thing of the past.
Surveys by the Japan Coast Guard and fishing-related organizations show that
the presence or absence of a life jacket
greatly affects the 'survival rate.'
The survival rate when not wearing a life jacket is in the 30% range,
whereas
the survival rate when wearing one is over 80%,and it is generally reported that
the chances of survival are 2 to 3 times higher.Regardless of whether you are a good swimmer or not,'just staying afloat' is the most important thing of all,
and for that reason, life jackets are considered extremely effective.
The more you know about this data,
the more you might understand why our family
insists on 'life jackets are a must'
when playing in rivers or doing SUP.
They can be hard to move in, or a bit expensive,
there are certainly those inconveniences.
Even so,compared to a life,
I think life jackets are surprisingly cheap.
Why is there such a big difference?
The reason life jackets increase the survival rate is very simple.
Buoyancy prevents you from sinking
Prevents exhaustion and allows you to wait for rescue
You float naturally even if you panic
Being afloat makes it easier for rescue teams to find you
It doesn't matter if you are a good swimmer.
The ocean and rivers are places that are
'highly susceptible to conditions'more than you can imagine, such as getting a cramp, being swept away, murky water, or falling and hitting your head.
When times change, the 'norm' changes too
Even in this day and age, I still see many people
not wearing life jackets.
Honestly, they can be cumbersome to move in, and
a good one costs a fair amount of money.
Even so, it is a small price to pay compared to a life.
Ever since I was little, I was raised being told
“Rivers are dangerous.”The reason for this is that my father's younger brother,
my uncle, died in a river accident.
My uncle was three years old at the time. I never met him.
I never heard the details of the accident from my grandparents or my father.
No one ever spoke deeply about that topic.
But the words“Rivers are dangerous”were definitely passed down to me.
The same goes for pools and the ocean.
In the face of nature, humans are truly powerless.
That is precisely why, in our family, life jackets are a must.
Before getting into the water, the children
put them on naturally, as a matter of course.
It has become“a habit ingrained in them by nature.”
A life that has been protected goes on to protect the next.
I grew up without knowing about my uncle's accident.
But the words “rivers are dangerous”
certainly remained within me,
and now they have been passed on to my own children.
There are many differences between the past and the present, but
in terms of having lives we want to protect, every era is the same.
The history we cannot see
is what creates our “norm” today.
I am feeling that once again.
Finally
When I heard that one remark from my third son,
I was truly surprised.
“Those people are wrong. They aren't wearing life jackets.”
My heart tightened
realizing that this value had, before I knew it,become his“norm.”
The actions we have taken
to protect our children.
Always wearing them before entering the water.
Never letting our guard down, no matter how shallow the water.
Understanding that “a life lost cannot be returned.”
I felt once again that all of that had been properly conveyed.
As a parent,
there is no moment more rewarding than this.
Of course, wearing a life jacket
does not mean you are absolutely safe.
Nature exceeds our expectations, and
there is no such thing as perfect protection.
Even so,
it may just be a life jacket, but it is still a life jacket.
We know that there are situations where that one piece of gear
makes the difference between life and death.
That is why I want it to be a time when
everyone, including adults, wears them as a matter of course,
not just small children.
If such a future comes,
the idea that “it's strange not to wear one”like my third son's,
will surely spread even further.
I believe that.