I thought I would make this post about life jackets. Not only should little kids wear them in the canoe (law btw), but at camp and on the portages I think this is a MUST! Kids are FAST. They can get to the lake in a hurry. So its best to just leave them on. That why if you having a long paddle day they are already use to wearing the pfd's all day anyway. So practice at home! Put them on in the morning and take them off when they are sick of it. This is especially true for babies who take a long time to get use to wearing pfds.

What do you think for rain gear, then...must it fit over the PDF? Under?

it depends. if it is a rainy day (all day rain) i put it on them first. If it isnt then i make sure the rain jackets fit over the pfd. We got our rain gear from REI and it fits over it (they look funny though lol)