Safety Around Water: 8 Family Educational Guide Safety Tips

No matter your age or experience, understanding water safety helps ensure every moment near the water stays worry-free. Whether you are swimming at the pool, boating on open water, or enjoying time on a beach, understanding water safety can prevent accidents and save lives. The following eight tips cover key safety practices to help ensure every aquatic experience is fun, confident, and secure for the whole family! 

1. Pool Safety, Ask Permission, Benchmark Skills 

• Keep the following in mind when spending time around water: 
  • Always supervise children in and around water. 
  • Reinforce pool safety rules. 
  • It's OK for children to be apprehensive around water. Let your children know they can trust you to support and teach them.
  • Children learn at their own pace; be patient and encouraging.  
  • If possible, take first aid and CPR classes. 
  • Know how to respond to a call for help: alert a lifeguard, assist the victim by throwing the person a buoyant object, and call 911. 
  • Be aware that your fears of the water can transfer to your children, for example, if you say things such as "Close your eyes or you'll get water in them! Stay away from the water or you might drown." 
  • It's important for your child to attend all Safety Around Water lessons because they build on each other. 
• When you see your child after class, ask them to tell you about the lesson. 
• To teach the habit of asking permission before getting into water, we have students repeat the phrase "Before I get in the pool, I must always act first." This is an IMPORTANT rule. Children should always ask you or another adult for permission before entering the water. They should always have someone watching them around water. 
• Safety Around Water benchmark skills 
  • Jump, push, turn, grab helps students safely exit the pool by pushing off the bottom, grabbing the wall, and climbing out. 
  • Swim, float, swim helps students reach the side of the pool if they are not within reach by swimming on the front, rolling to the back to breathe when they get tired, grabbing the wall, and climbing out 

2. Reach or Throw, Don't Go 

• We encourage students to not jump in to try to help a tired or struggling swimmer because a panicked person in the water can grab them and pull them under. Instead, we teach them to use an object to reach out to the person and pull him or her back to the shore, the bank, or the side of the pool. We instruct students to use anything long enough to extend their reach or help the person float, such as a pool noodle. We recommend the same for adults. 

3. Call 911 

• We teach students about emergency situations and when to call 911. We explain to students that they should call 911 if they think a person is in trouble and there is no adult nearby. We also discuss what to tell the 911 operator:
  • First and last name
  • Location, including address
  • Telephone number 
  • What happened and how many people are hurt 

4. CPR 

• We share with students that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) helps maintain vital blood flow to the heart and brain. We explain that, if someone doesn't respond, students should check for breathing and a pulse. If they can't see, hear, or feel any signs of breathing and can't find a pulse after 10 seconds, the person probably needs CPR. 

5. Backyard Pools

• Here are some safety guidelines you should know if you own a pool or ever visit a pool: 
  • Keep children under active supervision at all times. 
  • Keep young children within arm's reach of an adult. Make sure older children swim with a partner every time. 
  • Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool; never allow anyone to swim alone. 
  • Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket. 
  • Any backyard pool should have a secure fence surrounding the pool with childproof locks. The gates should be locked at all times. 
  • Learn CPR and first aid. (Give a schedule of all the safety courses your Y offers.) 
  • When you hear thunder or see rain, get everyone out of the pool immediately. Being in the water could make you a target for lightning. Don't get back into the pool until at least 30 minutes after all signs of the storm have passed. 
  • Don't smoke or drink in the water. 
  • Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as no diving, stay away from drain covers, swim with a buddy, and walk, don't run. 
  • Don't let swimmers play on or near drains or skimmer baskets (where the water flows into the pool filtering system). 
  • For parties, hire a trained lifeguard. 
  • Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies; knows where to find appropriate safety equipment; and takes water safety, first aid, and CPR courses. (Give a schedule of all the safety courses your Y offers.) 

6. Pool Drains 

• We discuss some of the things students can do to stay safe around pool drains and prevent pool drain entrapment. Here are some things you should know about pool drains if you own a pool or ever visit a pool:
  • Pool drains pull water into the filtration system so it can be cleaned and returned to the pool. 
  • Swimmers can get stuck on a drain in deep water and not be able to get to the surface. 
  • Don't swim or play around pool drains. 
  • Don't swim in a pool that is missing drain covers. 

7. Life Jackets

• Until individuals pass a swim test, they should wear a life jacket in the water. Everyone, even strong swimmers, should wear a life jacket at all times when participating in water sports, boating, or watercraft activities. In case of an accident, a life jacket helps individuals float until help arrives. A proper life jacket should have the United States Coast Guard's seal of approval on the inside of the jacket. 

8. Boating

• Here are some rules to keep in mind when boating: 
  • Everyone on a boat should always wear a life jacket. 
  • Have children practice swimming with a life jacket on. 
  • Then, if they are ever in a situation that requires a life jacket, you know they won't panic. 
  • Ensure everyone in your family knows how to swim. It could save your lives, especially if you're ever caught in open water. 
  • If you own a boat or boat regularly, take a boating safety course. 
  • Never go into water after someone in trouble, unless they are a trained lifeguard. Use another means of rescue, such as a reaching assistant (show them how to do a reaching assist) or a throwing assist. 
  • Never swim alone. In Safety Around Water, we teach children to swim with a buddy and be responsible for caring for that buddy. 
  • Don't dive from a boat unless you know the water is deep enough and are sure there aren't large objects at the bottom. 
  • Don't drink alcohol and boat. 
  • File a float plan before you leave in your boat. Give a friend or relative a list with the following information: 
    • A complete description of your boat and car, including the boat registration number and car license plate number
    • A description of the survival equipment aboard the boat, including the radio (type and frequency) 
    • The number of people abroad and their home addresses and phone numbers, as well as whether any of those people have a medical problem
    • When the boat is leaving and returning and where the boat is leaving from, going to, and returning to 
  • Know boating laws and etiquette. 
  • Boat defensively. Others may not know or follow the rules. 
  • Check the weather before you go out, and keep an eye on the weather while you're on the water. 
  • Always have Coast Guard-required equipment on your boat (life jackets, fire extinguishers, backfire flame arrestors, ventilation systems, navigation lights, sound signaling devices, and visual distress signals) as well as other appropriate safety eqipment (approved gas can with fuel, oar, anchor and line, first aid kit, basic tools, flashlight and extra batteries, something to bail water, rain gear, compass, and extra batteries, something to bail water, rain gear, compass, and extra clothing). 
  • When changing seats in a small boat, stay low and near the center. 
  • Anchor the boat from the bow, not the stern. 
  • Respect the water...and have fun!