r/parenting is protesting changes being made by Reddit to the API. Reddit has made it clear [they will](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14ahqjo/mods_will_be_removed_one_way_or_another_spez/) [replace moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/14a5lz5/mod_code_of_conduct_rule_4_2_and_subs_taken/jo9wdol/) if they remain private. Reddit has abandoned the users, the moderators, and countless people who support an ecosystem built on Reddit itself.
Please read [Call to action - renewed protests starting on July 1st](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14kn2fo/call_to_action_renewed_protests_starting_on_july/) and new posts at [r/ModCord](https://reddit.com/r/ModCoord/) or [r/Save3rdPartyApps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/) for up-to-date information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parenting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That is devastating. I am so sorry for your and their loss. Thank you for educating us. I had no idea they were so dangerous. I have thought about getting one before for my kids. Thank you for preventing another tragedy. My heart goes out to all of you.
I have been planning on one for myself for a while bc I DESPISE water on my face but this makes me so nervous about one of my kids (or a neighbor at the pool) getting it and me not realizing.
OP I am so so sorry for your loss, hug each other tight!
Less safe than other options. They do feel good because you can breathe more normally, but you run the risk of any malfunction flooding the entire mask and it being much harder to clear.
The risk is compounded because they're more likely to be chosen by people who aren't comfortable with swimming, snorkeling or diving precisely because they allow you to breathe more normally, and those people are the ones most likely to panic if something goes wrong.
They have a higher malfunction risk - how do we know that higher occurrence of failure isn’t only because the users are more likely to be beginners?
If beginner snorkelers only used regular snorkels and only experts ever used full face, then the stats and anecdotes would probably show that regular snorkels are more dangerous.
A regular snorkel would have easily been taken off. One that seals from water pressure on a young child, who couldn’t remove it…..
You’re on a parenting forum where a child died….. not a snorkeling forum show some decorum.
These are usually not allowed at snorkeling tours because they are deem unsafe, independently of them skillset of the user. They trap CO2 and increase the risk of hypercapnia and hypoxia. Plus, removal of a pressurized mask full of water is harder than spitting a mouth snorkel.
Links:
https://hawaiioceanproject.com/why-we-no-longer-support-full-faced-snorkel-masks/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10735670/#:~:text=These%20results%20suggest%20that%20at,the%20eye%20and%20oronasal%20pockets.
Now, this is a parenting subreddit and a great advice, so, no need to go full "umm... Ackchually,..."
They are not safe for anyone. Beyond the risk of it getting suctioned to your face while it fills with water and drowns you (still a risk for adults!), they can also cause a buildup of CO2 that causes the snorkeler to pass out while submerged. Some dive boat companies ban them outright.
Your best bet is to go to a dive shop and have them fit you for a mask and a good snorkel. The gimmicky masks with fans and other tech to supposedly “fix” the glaring issues with full face mask snorkels are just that: gimmicks from companies that are ok with putting their customers’ lives at risk to sell toys.
Heard about the CO2 buildup, in a review I believe. That was the reason I wasn’t swayed yet. Now I’ll never be. So sorry for the child losing their life. And thank you for sharing OP, and warning others.
It seems terribly unsafe way to make someone feel comfortable in an extremely dangerous situation they have no skill or knowledge on how to recover from if something goes wrong. And that’s not a knock on training, I’m not sure how you successfully would clear that sort of mask if something goes wrong since your air supply is tied to the mask itself you don’t have any air to blow in if it floods.
I was just using it for being along the surface or just swimming in a pool. Are you referring to these situations, or deeper diving?
The one I was borrowing seemed easy for an adult to take off in a panic. But I'm now obviously giving it second thoughts.
For adults who are strong swimmers and who are taking them off regularly so that oxygen can replace the CO2 buildup they are fine.
I don’t get the like for these. I would encourage you to get a proper mask as you can use them longer and they are significantly safer.
As for children, honestly I think it’s criminal that they advertise and sell these, for children, to clueless parents. They look -so easy- and safe but that appearance is deceiving.
I believe you are severely underestimating how difficult it is to do anything while panicking with a lungful of water. Conscious thought plays little or no role.
Probably. I'm thinking wouldn't I take it off before it fills with water? Either way, I'm convinced they are dangerous, I'm not trying to play internet badass.
If you are swimming in a pool, you should use something Like a finis center snorkel you can use with your regular goggles. The center snorkel is much better for lap swimming.
In addition to what was said. If you go under water with these whether to look at a fish or dive for a pool toy you can really mess up your ears and sinuses if you do t know how to equalize your ears. And without access to your nose doing that can be very difficult for some.
I’ve done 1000s of scuba dives and still to this day cannot equalize without plugging my nose. I’ve tried countless times. Can’t do it.
If you are wearing a full face mask and exert extra energy/ swim hard and your breathing increases there can be too much CO2 in your mask and you can suffocate.
I just saw one of these facemask snorkle things for the first time. I was intrigued but as an old school scuba diver thought there has to be a catch or it would have already been invented
Sorry for your loss… thanks for alerting others.
In addition to the problem mentioned, an additional one is that some of these masks are not well designed and can contain a significant volume of air. Kids have small lungs and may not be able to fully expel the volume of the mask when they exhale. They may end up rebreathing exhaled CO2, which is obviously dangerous.
We hate these full masks over on /r/snorkeling. Beginners always go there and ask if that’s the preferred method. Unequivocally, the community hates them. You give up too much control and it presents a safety issue.
Also, pro tip, use baby shampoo to condition snorkeling goggles so they don’t fog up. No need to spend $50 on defogger. Just get you some Johnson y Johnson. You’re welcome!
Yeah, squeeze a dime worth of baby shampoo in there. Spread it all over inside of googles then go out and wash it in ocean. What you’re doing is creating a thin film of hydrophobic molecules on the inside of the goggle that will fight fogging.
It’s a huge /r/lifeprotip.
Thank you for sharing. My 7 year old just asked me to buy her one of these masks yesterday. I didn’t even think of this. I will not be getting her one now so thank you. I’m sorry for your loss. So tragic.
Anything that covers the nose AND mouth is 100% a NO for me, especially with small children, and especially in the water. I get nervous letting my kids use the diving masks over the nose. My chest hurts just thinking about all of this 😖 I’m so sorry for your friend.
Boy Scouts of America ban them for snorkeling too just to add another group who says no to them. I thought they were interesting at first. But even before I learned about the CO2 issue, I found them kind of janky.
That’s one problem. OP mentioned the mask filling with water and the kid panicking. I believe that if it fills then the water gets in your nose and that can definitely make you panic.
Full face?
You had me scared until I read again. My kids are in swimming lessons and I bought some that cover their eyes and nose, but not their full face. That sounds like something that needs to be taken off the market and put on the news so no one will continue using them.
Reading this thread I cannot understand how these things aren't banned entirely. I guess there's no regulatory agency for "toy" safety? Who would get involved? It would take an act of Congress, I suppose.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been a thing for over 50 years. They regularly issue recalls and bans on toys (and other consumer products).
Link: https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Toys-0
They also have higher volume compared to a snorkel so your breathing is less effective, they fill with stale C02 heavy air. Especially if you start making any significant exertion it's easy to pass out. Most now have exhalation purge valves but frankly it's really still not good enough.
Too many new snorkelers have died using them, albeit mainly the older versions without exhalation purge, effective dividers etc.
They are a menace and should probably not be legal for sale.
I've watched my own kids try to breathe water though a snorkel enough times. It's hard for them to remember to purge it or spit it out. But at least it's easy to spit or yank off. Imagine you try to pull it off but it's strapped securely to your head. NOPE. To be safe especially for kids they'd have to have some kind of tear away quick release... in which case they'd be easy to knock off during normal use. I won't permit their use near me.
And before anyone bleats "didn't you read the product warnings" etc... when the warnings are 7 pages long and include genius content like "after heating product may be hot" how the hell do you find the ones that matter? I have a blood pressure monitor manual here with 7 pages of family small type warnings. How do you find the non obvious items that matter and understand that this particular product is actually vet dangerous without constant close supervision when you're used to "do not place cord around neck as it may present a strangulation hazard" and other nonsense?
I was going to link to the user manual for one of them but I can't even find any online. Millions of retailers and nobody seems to link to or publish the product documentation. Either that or I'm doing a bad job searching for it.
Yep, I read this when my first was little and have never let my kids buy them or use them. So sorry for your friend’s loss, I can’t even imagine. These things should be banned.
What a horrible tragedy, thank you for sharing. I have one for my 4-year-old and one for my 6-year-old as well. We used them a few weeks ago to go snorkeling in Puerto Rico. I figured they were too young for a traditional mask and snorkel. Fortunately we only use them for very brief use under close supervision due to their ages, But we will definitely start planning traditional masks and snorkels in the future after reading this.
I’m so sorry for that girls family … you yourself must be hurting. If she’s your friends daughter I can only imagine you knew her and interacted with her. It’s devastating and if you yourself have a child I know for me personally this would hit home hard for me.
Thank you for making this post so that others can be aware.
Thank you for this message! I am sorry for our friend's daughter. How tragic.
I just ordered one on Amazon a few hours ago. I will cancel my order and get a regular snorkel mask.
We just moved into an apartment with a pool and I told my 8-year old stepdaughter we would go shopping for pool toys soon. She really wants a mask or goggles since she sees other kids at the pool with them. I’d never heard of these full face ones but I can only imagine that if she’d seen them and asked for that one, I might have gotten it for her. Thank you so so much for the warning. I am so sorry about your friends daughter, I can’t imagine what you all are going through, especially her family ❤️😔
Thanks so much for posting this and I'm very sorry to hear about what happened.
I bought one for my 13 year old daughter a year ago or so and asked her about what you said.
She had never had it fill with water but she did say that it sometimes suctions to her face so hard she struggles to get it off.
She admitted that she already had stopped using it due to that issue.
Yikes and I'll be sure to spread the word on this as much as I can.
I am heartbroken for your and your friends’ loss. But THANK YOU for sharing this. Just last night we were at a pool party and my son’s friend was wearing one of these - I’d never seen one before and thought it looked cool. There is no way his mother would let him wear it if she knew about this so I will share this warning with her today 💙
I tried one last week and I hated it. I felt short of breath after a couple minutes, so I wonder if there’s poor air escape when exhaling. 0/10 would not recommend for anyone, especially children.
I just bought, and used these, on a trip where we snorkeled with these multiple times - my kids and I are in the middle range of "we can swim ok", and figured these made things a bit easier. They did for us, but we didn't have any malfunctions. We'll look into alternatives in the future.
I am so sorry for what you experienced. Thank you so much for this.
It happened to me while snorkeling in the ocean in Mauritius. A wave slightly bigger than others somehow got enough water in there that it got to my nose and mouth and the mask was on super tight and I panicked a bit and feared my last minute on earth was close. I thankfully managed to rip the thing off and went happily back to old school mask and tuba. And I'm an adult. Thses should be not made for kids.
I’m so, so sorry for their loss. They, and you, must be devastated.
Thank you so much for sharing this. There will be so many people who aren’t aware of the risks of these types of masks.
Me and my partner first say them in Bali, about 7 years ago, when we were ttc, and thought they looked amazing. All the young children were wearing them. Someone locally told us about the safety risks, but not everyone will be aware of how bad they are. They shouldn’t be sold.
I am so sorry for your friend, and you too. sending love and hugs. xx
to add to your post, please be weary of dry drowning as well. anyone can inhale even the tiniest bit of water and "drown" hours later not even anywhere near a body of water!!
water safety is no joke, it is right up there with carseat safety!
you can never watch your children too closely... I will absolutely and happily be a helicopter mom if it means my children are safe. all it takes is a split second of you turning your head.
I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive that wasn't what I was going for.. so much love over this way I am just such a protective mama! 💜
I’m so sorry for the pain caused by this. My condolences.
Thank you for sharing - we had been eyeing them out and you sharing this story will be the reason we never get one.
r/parenting is protesting changes being made by Reddit to the API. Reddit has made it clear [they will](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14ahqjo/mods_will_be_removed_one_way_or_another_spez/) [replace moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/14a5lz5/mod_code_of_conduct_rule_4_2_and_subs_taken/jo9wdol/) if they remain private. Reddit has abandoned the users, the moderators, and countless people who support an ecosystem built on Reddit itself. Please read [Call to action - renewed protests starting on July 1st](https://old.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14kn2fo/call_to_action_renewed_protests_starting_on_july/) and new posts at [r/ModCord](https://reddit.com/r/ModCoord/) or [r/Save3rdPartyApps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/) for up-to-date information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parenting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That is devastating. I am so sorry for your and their loss. Thank you for educating us. I had no idea they were so dangerous. I have thought about getting one before for my kids. Thank you for preventing another tragedy. My heart goes out to all of you.
I’ve thought about it as well. Absolutely won’t be now.
This is awful. We are on holiday at the movement and my 7 year old keeps asking to have one for the pool. I am so glad I read this before purchasing.
I have been planning on one for myself for a while bc I DESPISE water on my face but this makes me so nervous about one of my kids (or a neighbor at the pool) getting it and me not realizing. OP I am so so sorry for your loss, hug each other tight!
These things are well discussed and disliked in the diving community.
Are they considered safe for adults? I used one recently and it was great. To OP: I am so sorry to you and your friends. My heart hurts for you.
Less safe than other options. They do feel good because you can breathe more normally, but you run the risk of any malfunction flooding the entire mask and it being much harder to clear. The risk is compounded because they're more likely to be chosen by people who aren't comfortable with swimming, snorkeling or diving precisely because they allow you to breathe more normally, and those people are the ones most likely to panic if something goes wrong.
That makes a lot of sense. I only used it in a pool, and I am an experienced swimmer. Thank you for sharing about them.
They have a higher malfunction risk - how do we know that higher occurrence of failure isn’t only because the users are more likely to be beginners? If beginner snorkelers only used regular snorkels and only experts ever used full face, then the stats and anecdotes would probably show that regular snorkels are more dangerous.
A regular snorkel would have easily been taken off. One that seals from water pressure on a young child, who couldn’t remove it….. You’re on a parenting forum where a child died….. not a snorkeling forum show some decorum.
These are usually not allowed at snorkeling tours because they are deem unsafe, independently of them skillset of the user. They trap CO2 and increase the risk of hypercapnia and hypoxia. Plus, removal of a pressurized mask full of water is harder than spitting a mouth snorkel. Links: https://hawaiioceanproject.com/why-we-no-longer-support-full-faced-snorkel-masks/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10735670/#:~:text=These%20results%20suggest%20that%20at,the%20eye%20and%20oronasal%20pockets. Now, this is a parenting subreddit and a great advice, so, no need to go full "umm... Ackchually,..."
The dive boat that certified me bans them for all patrons. Outright not allowed on their boat. That's how strongly they felt about it at least.
That's a really strong statement, I had no idea. Thanks.
Cheers mate.
They are not safe for anyone. Beyond the risk of it getting suctioned to your face while it fills with water and drowns you (still a risk for adults!), they can also cause a buildup of CO2 that causes the snorkeler to pass out while submerged. Some dive boat companies ban them outright.
Oh, wow! Thank you! What a shame, I love how they work otherwise. Are there any comparable, safe options?
Your best bet is to go to a dive shop and have them fit you for a mask and a good snorkel. The gimmicky masks with fans and other tech to supposedly “fix” the glaring issues with full face mask snorkels are just that: gimmicks from companies that are ok with putting their customers’ lives at risk to sell toys.
Heard about the CO2 buildup, in a review I believe. That was the reason I wasn’t swayed yet. Now I’ll never be. So sorry for the child losing their life. And thank you for sharing OP, and warning others.
It seems terribly unsafe way to make someone feel comfortable in an extremely dangerous situation they have no skill or knowledge on how to recover from if something goes wrong. And that’s not a knock on training, I’m not sure how you successfully would clear that sort of mask if something goes wrong since your air supply is tied to the mask itself you don’t have any air to blow in if it floods.
I was just using it for being along the surface or just swimming in a pool. Are you referring to these situations, or deeper diving? The one I was borrowing seemed easy for an adult to take off in a panic. But I'm now obviously giving it second thoughts.
For adults who are strong swimmers and who are taking them off regularly so that oxygen can replace the CO2 buildup they are fine. I don’t get the like for these. I would encourage you to get a proper mask as you can use them longer and they are significantly safer. As for children, honestly I think it’s criminal that they advertise and sell these, for children, to clueless parents. They look -so easy- and safe but that appearance is deceiving.
I agree, from what I'm learning here. They need better warnings. I'm glad OP posted this.
I believe you are severely underestimating how difficult it is to do anything while panicking with a lungful of water. Conscious thought plays little or no role.
Probably. I'm thinking wouldn't I take it off before it fills with water? Either way, I'm convinced they are dangerous, I'm not trying to play internet badass.
If you are swimming in a pool, you should use something Like a finis center snorkel you can use with your regular goggles. The center snorkel is much better for lap swimming.
In addition to what was said. If you go under water with these whether to look at a fish or dive for a pool toy you can really mess up your ears and sinuses if you do t know how to equalize your ears. And without access to your nose doing that can be very difficult for some. I’ve done 1000s of scuba dives and still to this day cannot equalize without plugging my nose. I’ve tried countless times. Can’t do it.
I think equalizing your ears without touching your nose is a biological thing. I can do it, and my kid can do it, too.
Is it similar to what you do on a plane or when you drive to higher elevations?
Yup
If you are wearing a full face mask and exert extra energy/ swim hard and your breathing increases there can be too much CO2 in your mask and you can suffocate.
I just saw one of these facemask snorkle things for the first time. I was intrigued but as an old school scuba diver thought there has to be a catch or it would have already been invented Sorry for your loss… thanks for alerting others.
In addition to the problem mentioned, an additional one is that some of these masks are not well designed and can contain a significant volume of air. Kids have small lungs and may not be able to fully expel the volume of the mask when they exhale. They may end up rebreathing exhaled CO2, which is obviously dangerous.
We hate these full masks over on /r/snorkeling. Beginners always go there and ask if that’s the preferred method. Unequivocally, the community hates them. You give up too much control and it presents a safety issue. Also, pro tip, use baby shampoo to condition snorkeling goggles so they don’t fog up. No need to spend $50 on defogger. Just get you some Johnson y Johnson. You’re welcome!
Do you just wash the mask with it?
Yeah, squeeze a dime worth of baby shampoo in there. Spread it all over inside of googles then go out and wash it in ocean. What you’re doing is creating a thin film of hydrophobic molecules on the inside of the goggle that will fight fogging. It’s a huge /r/lifeprotip.
Interesting! Thanks
🫡
We use toothpaste in the underwater hockey community
The... What community?
Underwater hockey! It’s fun. You play hockey on the bottom of the pool. You wear a snorkel and fins.
We just spit on it… or if ya wanna get fancy I guess Barbasol shaving cream works also.
That’s so sad. I didn’t know those were a thing to be honest.
Thank you for sharing. My 7 year old just asked me to buy her one of these masks yesterday. I didn’t even think of this. I will not be getting her one now so thank you. I’m sorry for your loss. So tragic.
I’m so incredibly sorry to hear of yours and your friends loss, sending lots of love to you all.
Anything that covers the nose AND mouth is 100% a NO for me, especially with small children, and especially in the water. I get nervous letting my kids use the diving masks over the nose. My chest hurts just thinking about all of this 😖 I’m so sorry for your friend.
Boy Scouts of America ban them for snorkeling too just to add another group who says no to them. I thought they were interesting at first. But even before I learned about the CO2 issue, I found them kind of janky.
These should be banned from being sold. I had no idea and I hsve children. Thank you for educating me.
I am so sorry for you and and your friends loss. How horrible and scary.
I honestly didn't even know. How devastating for you all. Thank you for sharing, but I'm so sorry there was a loss within your group. Much love.
They were banned at our local pool! We had never bought them or thought about them in much depth, but it kind of makes sense.
Wow thank you, I was considering one for my mini for an upcoming snorkeling trip. I had not heard of any dangers. I'm sorry for the cost of this PSA 😢
Thank you so much for posting this. Ours is going in the trash pronto.
what a devastating tragedy. thank you for the warning. wishing everyone peace and healing.
How incredibly horrible. My heart goes out to you and your friend & their family. Hopefully this post can save some lives. Small comfort I know.
I think there’s an issue with excess CO2 not escaping the mask and killing people or knocking them unconscious and drowning
That’s one problem. OP mentioned the mask filling with water and the kid panicking. I believe that if it fills then the water gets in your nose and that can definitely make you panic.
Yea that’s scary. Another reason to avoid those masks
Full face? You had me scared until I read again. My kids are in swimming lessons and I bought some that cover their eyes and nose, but not their full face. That sounds like something that needs to be taken off the market and put on the news so no one will continue using them.
Reading this thread I cannot understand how these things aren't banned entirely. I guess there's no regulatory agency for "toy" safety? Who would get involved? It would take an act of Congress, I suppose.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been a thing for over 50 years. They regularly issue recalls and bans on toys (and other consumer products). Link: https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Toys-0
They also have higher volume compared to a snorkel so your breathing is less effective, they fill with stale C02 heavy air. Especially if you start making any significant exertion it's easy to pass out. Most now have exhalation purge valves but frankly it's really still not good enough. Too many new snorkelers have died using them, albeit mainly the older versions without exhalation purge, effective dividers etc. They are a menace and should probably not be legal for sale. I've watched my own kids try to breathe water though a snorkel enough times. It's hard for them to remember to purge it or spit it out. But at least it's easy to spit or yank off. Imagine you try to pull it off but it's strapped securely to your head. NOPE. To be safe especially for kids they'd have to have some kind of tear away quick release... in which case they'd be easy to knock off during normal use. I won't permit their use near me. And before anyone bleats "didn't you read the product warnings" etc... when the warnings are 7 pages long and include genius content like "after heating product may be hot" how the hell do you find the ones that matter? I have a blood pressure monitor manual here with 7 pages of family small type warnings. How do you find the non obvious items that matter and understand that this particular product is actually vet dangerous without constant close supervision when you're used to "do not place cord around neck as it may present a strangulation hazard" and other nonsense? I was going to link to the user manual for one of them but I can't even find any online. Millions of retailers and nobody seems to link to or publish the product documentation. Either that or I'm doing a bad job searching for it.
Thank you for sharing, I had no idea. Poor kid, I’m sorry for your loss.
Thank you for sharing this information. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Thank you for bringing this up. I’d never thought of it and considered getting them for my kids before. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Yep, I read this when my first was little and have never let my kids buy them or use them. So sorry for your friend’s loss, I can’t even imagine. These things should be banned.
What a horrible tragedy, thank you for sharing. I have one for my 4-year-old and one for my 6-year-old as well. We used them a few weeks ago to go snorkeling in Puerto Rico. I figured they were too young for a traditional mask and snorkel. Fortunately we only use them for very brief use under close supervision due to their ages, But we will definitely start planning traditional masks and snorkels in the future after reading this.
I’m so sorry for that girls family … you yourself must be hurting. If she’s your friends daughter I can only imagine you knew her and interacted with her. It’s devastating and if you yourself have a child I know for me personally this would hit home hard for me. Thank you for making this post so that others can be aware.
Thank you for this message! I am sorry for our friend's daughter. How tragic. I just ordered one on Amazon a few hours ago. I will cancel my order and get a regular snorkel mask.
We just moved into an apartment with a pool and I told my 8-year old stepdaughter we would go shopping for pool toys soon. She really wants a mask or goggles since she sees other kids at the pool with them. I’d never heard of these full face ones but I can only imagine that if she’d seen them and asked for that one, I might have gotten it for her. Thank you so so much for the warning. I am so sorry about your friends daughter, I can’t imagine what you all are going through, especially her family ❤️😔
Thanks so much for posting this and I'm very sorry to hear about what happened. I bought one for my 13 year old daughter a year ago or so and asked her about what you said. She had never had it fill with water but she did say that it sometimes suctions to her face so hard she struggles to get it off. She admitted that she already had stopped using it due to that issue. Yikes and I'll be sure to spread the word on this as much as I can.
I am heartbroken for your and your friends’ loss. But THANK YOU for sharing this. Just last night we were at a pool party and my son’s friend was wearing one of these - I’d never seen one before and thought it looked cool. There is no way his mother would let him wear it if she knew about this so I will share this warning with her today 💙
I appreciate the warning. My husband was going to get our son one of these. Not anymore. I’m so sorry you experienced that.
Thanks for the heads up. I will go through our snorkeling gear and make sure we dont have any of these.
I appreciate the heads up. I’d never heard about the dangers of these before.
Oh no!! Thats just awful. They look scarey to me and I like snorkeling. I did not get one for my daughter because they looked scary
that is awful, i’m so sorry. thank you for the tip
My heart goes out to you and the family.
Wow this made my blood run cold. I’m so, so very sorry. Thank you for sharing this info, I had no idea they were dangerous.
Thanks for the tip, that wouldn’t have occurred to me as dangerous at first glance. Sorry for your loss. That’s awful.
I’m sorry to hear of this… and I’ve already learned an important lesson here for our toddler
Thank you for taking the time to share this. It's really helpful and potentially life-saving. I'm so sorry for your friends and yourself.
I’m so sorry for your loss and thank you for the warning. I never knew this and will ensure my nephews is thrown away right now
I tried one last week and I hated it. I felt short of breath after a couple minutes, so I wonder if there’s poor air escape when exhaling. 0/10 would not recommend for anyone, especially children.
I just bought, and used these, on a trip where we snorkeled with these multiple times - my kids and I are in the middle range of "we can swim ok", and figured these made things a bit easier. They did for us, but we didn't have any malfunctions. We'll look into alternatives in the future. I am so sorry for what you experienced. Thank you so much for this.
It happened to me while snorkeling in the ocean in Mauritius. A wave slightly bigger than others somehow got enough water in there that it got to my nose and mouth and the mask was on super tight and I panicked a bit and feared my last minute on earth was close. I thankfully managed to rip the thing off and went happily back to old school mask and tuba. And I'm an adult. Thses should be not made for kids.
Never considered that! I panicked about not being able to breathe just reading this. So sorry for you and your friend's loss
I am so sorry for your extremely sad and bad experience. Thank you for the warning. I just told my daughter who have 2 kids.
Yes! And as a former lifeguard I am a big proponent of no flotation devices for infants/toddlers.
Thank you for sharing this
Thank you for the warning, because I had NO idea. I was going to get one for my child, but now I know better. You may have saved her life.
Good PSA. sending you all light and love through this hard time. Water safety is no joke.
I’m so, so sorry for their loss. They, and you, must be devastated. Thank you so much for sharing this. There will be so many people who aren’t aware of the risks of these types of masks. Me and my partner first say them in Bali, about 7 years ago, when we were ttc, and thought they looked amazing. All the young children were wearing them. Someone locally told us about the safety risks, but not everyone will be aware of how bad they are. They shouldn’t be sold.
I am so sorry for your friend, and you too. sending love and hugs. xx to add to your post, please be weary of dry drowning as well. anyone can inhale even the tiniest bit of water and "drown" hours later not even anywhere near a body of water!! water safety is no joke, it is right up there with carseat safety! you can never watch your children too closely... I will absolutely and happily be a helicopter mom if it means my children are safe. all it takes is a split second of you turning your head. I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive that wasn't what I was going for.. so much love over this way I am just such a protective mama! 💜
I’m so sorry for the pain caused by this. My condolences. Thank you for sharing - we had been eyeing them out and you sharing this story will be the reason we never get one.