There’s nothing like a refreshing dip and fun time in a pool or at the beach! Summer brings many opportunities to enjoy different bodies of water and build lots of fun memories. To ensure the safety of your children please keep these important tips in mind!

Safety at Home

• Never leave your child alone in the bathtub – even for a moment. Drownings can happen in even a few inches of water when a parent leaves a small child alone or with another young child.
• Bath seats are meant to serve as aides, however they can tip over and your child can slip out of them. They are not effective tools for drowning prevention.
• Keep bathroom doors closed or install door knob covers or other locks to ensure your small children cannot wander in unattended.
• Keep toilets closed. Always close the toilet lid or consider using a toilet latch.
• Empty water from containers such as large pails and 5 gallon buckets immediately after use.

Safety at the Pool

• Children should always be supervised by an adult while at the pool.
• For infants and toddlers and adult should always be IN the water and within arms reach providing “touch supervision”
• For older children adults should always be supervising with constant attention and free from distractions.
• The supervising adult should also know how to swim.
• Keep toys away from the pool when not in use and deflate small blow up toys after each use.
• Teach children that no one (including adults) should ever swim alone.
• Do not keep tricycles or other riding toys near the pool.
• Never keep electrical appliances or cords of any kind near the pool.
• Do not allow diving in a pool that is not deep enough.
• Ensure that children do not run on the pool deck.
• To prevent small children from entering the pool area on their own, pools should have their own fence completely surrounding the pool and isolating it from the house.

Swimming Lessons

• Learning to swim is an incredibly important skill for most children. The AAP supports swimming lessons for most children 4 years and older and children 1-4 years of age who are ready to learn.
• Some important factors to consider when deciding if your child is ready for swimming lessons is the frequency of water exposure, emotional maturity, physical limitations and health concerns related to swimming pools (i.e. pool chemicals, infections, etc.)
• Some swim programs claim to teach water surveil skills to infants younger than 12 months, however evidence does not show that they are effective in preventing drowning.
• Always research who the swimming classes are taught by and make sure your child is being taught by qualified teachers.

Diving

• Serious spinal cord injuries, permanent brain damage and death can occur when you dive into shallow water.
• Make sure to always check how deep water is and always enter feet first especially when going in for the first time.
• Never dive into aboveground pools or the shallow end of a pool.
• Never dive through toys or inner tubes.
• It’s best to learn to dive properly through taking a swimming class.

Other Bodies of Water

• Swimming in Oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds and streams is different from swimming in a pool.
• While most of the same safety tips apply including not diving unless the depth and conditions of the water are known and appropriate and never swimming without adult supervision, there are a few more things to keep in mind while out on natural bodies of water:
  • Always use approved personal flotation devices such as a life vest when boating, fishing, water skiing, playing in a river or stream. Water wings or other swimming aids should not be used in place of a life vest.
  • Never try water sports such as scuba diving, skiing or snorkeling without instructions from a qualified teacher.
  • Never swim around anchored boats, in boating lanes or where people are water skiing.
  • Never swim during electrical storms.
  • If you swim or drift far from shore, stay calm and tread water or float on your back until help arrives.

Emergency Preparation

• The best things to do to prepare for an emergency situation are:
  • Learn CPR. Anyone caring for children should know COR which can save a life and help reduce injury after a near drowning. Trainings are offered regularly by the American Heart Association, Red Cross and local hospitals or fire depts.
  • Always have a phone near the pool.
  • Post safety and CPR instructions poolside.
  • Mae sure all rescue equipment is nearby including: a shepherds hook, safety ring and rope.