this situation has been playing out in my brain for a bit.
I kayak. religiously. I cant imagine sitting on my kayak without my trusty traditional foam filled PFD. this will never be me.
I dont have a kid of my own. been out with other peoples kids and I make the parents buy their child a PFD and I clip it on the kid before I head out. (boating usually)... I did have a single mom have me take their kid bass fishing..and I made sure..PFD or you dont go with me. (my buddy was trying to hook up with mom, and I agreed to wingman)
the story:
https://abc7.com/post/man-dies-saving-7-year-old-son-drowning-kayak-flipped-lake-perris-officials-say/18262596/
they were kayaking and this situation sucks...if they had PFD, it would be low hanging fruit.. they would be laughing about it. hate to disparage the dead, but damn!!