What to Consider in a Kids’ Life JacketIt goes without saying that safety should always be your top priority when picking a life jacket. U.S. Coast Guard-ApprovedEvery single one of the life jackets we included have been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, specifically for children’s safety. Type I are offshore life jackets; Type II are near-shore vests; Type IV are throwable devices; and Type V are special-use devices. How We Selected The Best Kids’ Life JacketsFor this particular guide, I took a lot of cues from Jojo, my five-year-old daughter. My baseline for these picks is that I would put any of these life jackets on my own daughter.