Water Safety
Provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising in or near water.
- ✓ Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards. Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone.
- ✓ Provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising, even when a lifeguard is present, no matter how well the child can swim or how shallow the water. Avoid distractions including cell phones.
- ✓ Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
- ✓ Designate a water watcher whenever in a group setting.
Take smart precautions and use layers of protection.
- ✓ Stay within an arm's reach of any weak or inexperienced swimmer who is in the water.
- ✓ Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
- ✓ Do not rely on the use of water wings, swim rings, inflatable toys or other items designed for water recreation to replace adult supervision.
- ✓ If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers to prevent unsupervised access to the water.
- ✓ Many children who drown in home pools did so during non-swim times – when they weren’t expected to be in the water, including as the swimming activity was coming to an end and everyone was thought to be out of the water.
- ✓ Children were often out of sight for less than 5 minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time.
Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well and what to do in a water emergency.
- ✓ If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
- ✓ Know how and when to call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.
- ✓ Have appropriate equipment, such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets and a first aid kit.
- ✓ Enroll in age-appropriate swim lessons.
- ✓ Learn CPR for children and adults.