Water Safety Tips for Children and Adults

• Know how to swim and make sure your children know how to swim. Formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by as much as 88 percent among young children 1-4, who are at the greatest risk of drowning.
• Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). In the time it might take for lifeguards or paramedics to arrive, your CPR skills could save someone’s life.
• Even if a child knows how to swim, watch him or her closely around any body of water, no matter how shallow. Designate a responsible adult who can swim and knows CPR to watch swimmers in or around the water – even when lifeguards are present. That adult should not be involved in any other distracting activity (such as reading, or talking on the phone) while watching children.
• Stay within arm’s reach while a child is in the water.
• Use life jackets appropriately.
• Don’t rely on substitutes. Air-filled toys like “water wings”, “noodles” and inner-tubes are NOT safety devices and should not be substituted for a life jacket or adult supervision.
• Get Water wise…Supervise! Don’t assume someone else is supervising a toddler or child who likes to wander.

More information about Red Cross water safety is available at www.redcross.org/watersafety.