Things You'll Need:
- Life jacket
- Fence
- Pool alarm
-
Step 1
Teach children to swim. Most children are ready to learn by age four. For children who do not swim: when you are near recreational water, use a proper size U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket. Water wings and inner tubes are not substitutes for life jackets. Swimming lessons and life jackets are safeguards, but not guarantees against drowning.
-
Step 2
Fence in the pool. Seal it off completely from the house and yard. Use a self closing, self latching gate that opens outward. Ensure the fence is a minimum of four feet high. Confirm that children cannot reach the latch. As an additional safeguard, install a fence alarm and floating pool alarm to signal entry to the pool area and water.
-
Step 3
Keep hair away from suction drains. These are found in spas, hot tubs, whirlpool bathtubs, wading pools and swimming pools. Drowning occurs when long hair becomes trapped in the drain holding the child underwater. As an additional safeguard install drain covers that meet voluntary standards for the industry.
-
Step 4
Supervise water activities. Enlist an adult to watch children while they swim or play near water. At public pools and swimming areas ensure that a lifeguard is on duty. Watch very young children in the bath and in wading pools. They can drown in an inch of water. Refuse to entertain interruptions that would leave a child alone, even momentarily.
-
Step 5
Remove pool toys after swimming. Floating toys can encourage children to return to an unsupervised pool.
-
Step 6
Safeguard water receptacles. Toddlers can fall head first into filled buckets, toilets and coolers. If children don't have the strength to pull themselves out, they may drown. Close toilet lids, lock bathroom doors and latch other containers.
-
Step 7
Follow warnings at beaches, lakes and rivers. Avoid dangerous weather conditions. At the beach adhere to instructions posted on warning signs and flags. When boating, regardless of age and swimming ability, have the child wear a U.S. Coastguard approved life jacket.
