With the warmer weather and summer months coming up, more people will be spending time taking part in swimming, boating, fishing, and other recreational activities in and around water. Before you and your kids hit the pool or lake, take the time to review some basics of water safety.
- Drowning is the number 1 cause of unintentional death for children ages 1 to 4, and there are an average of 390 deaths of children 14 and younger in pools and spas each year. It is the second leading cause of accidental death for people between 5 and 24.
- Pool Safely, a website run by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, provides a useful series of articles for parents and families, PDF brochures and tip cards, and a Kid’s Corner with educational videos and child-friendly interactive games.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency has a Beach Kids! site with child-oriented information on beaches, safety, pollution, and interactive games.
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has resources on healthy swimming, including what to look for before you hop in that public pool and how to prevent swimmer’s ear.
- KidsHealth has a great article on keeping kids safe at the pool, at the water park, at the beach, and at the lake or pond. Topics also include what to do in an emergency and special tips for water safety and babies. The article is also available in Spanish.
- The National Park Service has a kid-friendly interactive game on water safety in the National Parks.
Splashing in the water is a great way to have fun and stay cool when the weather gets warm, so make sure you and your kids know how to be safe around water before you slap on the sunscreen and head to the pool or beach.
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