Be Water Wise

Most water-related accidents involving children can be avoided by following a few simple guidelines.

Swimming

• Ensure that all adults and children in your household learn how to swim.
• Teach children to always swim with a buddy.
• Teach water safety rules to children.
• Actively watch children when they are swimming, even if they know how to swim. Don’t leave, even for a moment.
• Keep a phone near you while watching children swim—use it only to call for help if there is an emergency.
• Keep children who can’t swim, or can’t swim well, within your reach.

Open Water

• Ensure that children only swim in areas designated for swimming.
• Teach children to enter the water feet first.
• Ensure that children wear a United States Coast Guard-approved life jacket at all times when in or near open bodies of water.

Pools

• Put up a fence that is at least four feet high and surrounds all sides of the pool area. Ensure that the fence has a gate with a lock and that the gate closes and latches on its own.
• Teach children not to play or swim near pool or spa drains.
• Have alarms on every door and window leading to the pool area

Did You Know?

• Each year, more than 830 children ages 14 and younger die as a result of unintentional drowning.
• On average, 3,600 injuries per year occur in children due to near-drowning incidents.
• Home swimming pools are the most common place for a child age 5 or younger to drown.
• The majority of infant drowning deaths in children younger than 1 year old occur in bathtubs, buckets, or toilets.

Source: United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and Safe Kids USA