• Close your bathrooms and your laundry rooms.
• Close your toilets and use toilet seat locks.
• Stay with your child when they are in the bathroom.
• Drain the tub immediately after your child’s bath.
• Empty all tubs, buckets, containers, and wading pools after use and store them upside down out of your child’s reach.
• Empty inflatable or portable pools after each use and store them upside down and out of their reach.

• Teach your child to never go near or in water without an adult present.

• Actively watch your child in or around water, even when a lifeguard is on duty and even if your child is a confident swimmer.
• Stay within arm’s length of your child until he is a confident swimmer.
• Every child is different. Enroll your child in swimming lessons when you feel he is ready.
• Teach children that swimming in a lake or river is not the same as swimming in a pool. It may be difficult to judge the depth of the water or the strength of a current.
• Swim only in areas designated for swimming.
• Whether swimming in a backyard pool or in a lake, teach children to swim with a partner using the “buddy system”.
• “Water wings” and inflatables are toys, not safety devices.
• Learn CPR, it will give you peace of mind.
• Watch your child for the dangerous “too's:” Too tired, Too cold, Too far from safety, Too much sun, Too much activity

• How have you educated your child on water safety?

​​This is a great swimming safety resource as well: Swimming Safety: Tips and Considerations for Pools, Beaches, Hot Tubs, and More

The best way to prevent drowning and confidence in the water is to encourage swimming lessons. Check out locations and find one near you.