Water Safety

Water Safety

Here you’ll find everything you need to know about water in the home. Whether you’re bathing your baby in the sink or splashing around with your toddler in the bathtub, water is great fun for kids. But it’s also a place where safety must come first, so here are a few tips for kids who love to get wet.

We know water is everywhere. So we divided it into three categories: Water in the home (keep reading below), swimming safety and boating safety.

Info on Water Safety

Among preventable injuries, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 – 4 years old. Children less than a year old are more likely to drown at home in the bathroom or a bucket.

Top Tips

  1. Watch kids when they are in or around water, without being distracted. Keep young children within arm’s reach of an adult.
  2. Empty all tubs, buckets, containers and kiddie pools immediately after use. Store them upside down so they don’t collect water.
  3. Close toilet lids and use toilet seat locks to prevent drowning. Keep doors to bathrooms and laundry rooms closed.
  4. Install fences around home pools. A pool fence should surround all sides of the pool and be at least four feet tall with self-closing and self-latching gates.
  5. Know what to do in an emergency. Learning CPR and basic water rescue skills may help you save a life.

Learn More

Want more information about safety in and around water? Check out some these additional tips.

Water Safety Tips at Home

Actively Supervise Kids in or Around Water

  1. Never leave your child unattended around water. Babies can drown in as little as one inch of water.
  2. Watch kids when they are in or around water, without being distracted. Keep young children within arm’s reach of an adult.

Remove Water from Tubs and Buckets After Use

  1. Once bath time is over, immediately drain the tub.
  2. Empty buckets, containers and kiddie pools immediately after use. Store them upside down so they don’t collect water.

Close Lids and Doors

  1. Close toilet lids and use toilet seat locks to prevent drowning.
  2. Keep doors to bathrooms and laundry rooms closed.

Backyard Pools

  1. Watch kids when they are in or around water, without being distracted. Keep young children within arm’s reach of an adult. Make sure older children swim with a partner every time.
  2. When there are several adults present and children are swimming, take turns watching the children for a certain amount of time (such as 15-minute periods) to prevent lapses in supervision.
  3. Install fences around home pools. A pool fence should surround all sides of the pool and be at least four feet tall with self-closing and self-latching gates.
  4. Teach children how to swim. Every child is different, so enroll children in swim lessons when they are ready. Consider their age, development and how often they are around water.
  5. Make sure kids learn how to swim and develop these five water survival skills:
  • step or jump into water over their heads and return to the surface;
  • float or tread water for one minute;
  • turn around in a full circle and find an exit
  • swim 25 yards to exit the water; and
  • exit the water. If in a pool, be able to exit without using the ladder.

Learn CPR

  1. Know what to do in an emergency. Learning CPR and basic water rescue skills may help you save a child’s life.

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