Summer Swimming Safety
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among one to four-year-olds.
Never leave your child unsupervised in or around a pool or any container of water. When around water, never let your child out of your sight for more than a few seconds at the most. Make use of children’s personal flotation devices. If you do use these devices, be aware that your child can still drown if left unsupervised. Learn CPR, including child CPR. If you own a pool, have a well-rehearsed plan for dealing with drowning emergencies.
• American Red Cross offers swim classes for the entire family starting at age 6 months. These
classes reduce the risk of drowning by 88%
• Keep children, under age 4, in water that’s shallow enough for them to stand.
• Surround the pool on all sides with a fence at least 5 feet tall.
• Make sure gates surrounding pool self-close and self-latch at a height children can’t reach.
• Prohibit running anywhere in the pool area.
• Make sure young children in a pool always have an adult at arm’s length.
• Make sure there is at least one adult present who can perform lifesaving techniques and CPR.
• Note that inflatable swimming aids can provide a false sense security. They are not a substitute for approved life vests.
• Keep rescue equipment, including a shepherd’s hook (a long pole with a hook on the end), life preservers, and a telephone near the pool.
• Don’t allow young children to jump or dive into a pool.
• Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren’t tempted to reach for them.
• After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can’t get back into it.
• For every child that drowns, 5 more are treated in emergency for near drowning.
• 75% of the children that drown are boys.
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