Through this post, we are wholeheartedly promoting the water safety tips, especially for families with small children. The basic idea is to watch kids around water at all times.
Never leave children near water alone
Regardless of whether it is a small baby bath tub or a large swimming poll, not for even a few seconds adults may leave a child near water. I am not joking — small children should not be left alone near even a toilet.
Keep aquariums out of reach of children
If you have aquariums, keep them out of reach of children. As we all know, any glass piece is a potential hazard. Additionally, aquariums are a potential chemical Hazard and an electrical hazard.
Make sure that the house is not slippery
Toddlers and small children run a lot. They don’t always have their balancing act in place. It is important to make sure that the house, the bath tub, and the yard, are not slippery. It is also important to not have exposed water in buckets or tubs around toddlers. An inch or two is enough to drown a child of young age.
Secure the water-area
If the pool or the tub is portable, keep it out of reach of children when it is not in use. Install fences around your swimming pool. It is better to install fences with a self-closing gate. Keep the gate closed at all times.
Do not leave items of attraction near water
All children have some favorite toys. It is better to keep all favorite as well as not-so-favorite toys in a safe place, NOT near the water. A child at any moment may think that her/his world will be upside down without the toy near the water and then run for it.
Bring all the plastic ducks back to the house after your child plays with them in the pool so that the child knows that the toys are never kept near water.
Do not trust your children
Haha … I mean, do not assume that your children will use good judgments around water. Even preteen children lose control of their emotion and excitement when they are around water. You might have seen how kids jump on top of one another when they are in and near the pool.
Do not leave a baby during bath
Suppose, I realize that I haven’t brought the towel when I am giving my child a bath. I will have to take my child with me if I have to leave to get the towel.
I will always try to get what I need during my child’s bath before I start.
Make sure that your child’s caregiver knows about constant supervision near water
If your child goes to a daycare center, I am sure the caregivers are trained and aware of constant supervisions near water. Still speak with the caregivers to learn about what precautions they take near water, if there is a water nearby.
Talk to your babysitter if she/he is aware of the constant supervision requirement near water. Remind the babysitter regarding the precautions. Leave emergency numbers with your babysitter.
Learn about the place where your child may visit
If your child goes on play-dates to a friend’s place, learn about the home of your child’s friend. Definitely, the first question to ask is if that residence has guns. 🙂 Just kidding regarding the gun thingy but this is something to think about as well. If the place where your child is going has a swimming pool, you will need to discuss the water safety tips with the parents of your child’s friend.
Learn about risks of drowning
CDC reported for the period of 2005-2014 that there were about ten deaths per day due to unintentional drowning. Of those ten, two are children of age 14 or younger. Among the many factors influencing drowning risk, two are lack of swimming ability and lack of supervision. Know the signs of drowning because a drowning child most often will not be able to yell for help.
Water often causes dry drowning. Dry drowning is the case when the vocal cord fills up with water making it hard to breathe even though water does not reach the lungs. Dry drowning sometimes occurs if children breathe in water when swimming or playing or splashing in the pool. Such dry drowning related breathing problems may occur up to twenty four hours later the child gets out of the pool.
Learn CPR
Learning CPR is a must. You might live near a hospital. Your house might be next to a fire station. Your neighbors might be health care providers. When it comes to water safety, none of these matters because every second matters during emergencies. Learning CPR is the first step of water safety preparedness.
Keep emergency phone numbers handy
Call 911 in an emergency. They will send the appropriate responder on your way. Text messaging 911 does not work. You have to call. Keep a list of phone numbers handy for non-emergencies.
Settle in El Paso team
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Never swim alone and learn how to swim! These are the best ways to make water safe for the kids. Thank you very much for stressing how important water safety is for kids. Kids really love to play in the water, By following these tips, it will give parents a peace of mind and allow kinds to enjoy playing in the water to the fullest. Plus, swimming is really a great physical activity for kids, it will help them develop a better physique.
I am happy to know that you liked the post. Definitely, swimming is a great physical activity. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Great article! very informative!
Wafer safety for children is an important measure. It can be very dangerous for the child, if we fail to take precautions regarding water safety.
It is very true that even one or two inch of water is enough for the young child to drown. We should never allow them to go alone near water. Ample care should be taken even during bathing the child
Dry drowning, is also an important factor, which leads to respiratory complications to the child.
I agree with you on all those. We always need to be careful when there are kids around. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
My pleasure!
I also thank you for re-commenting me. It means a lot to me. I like this forum to a greater extend, very intresting at the same time very informative. I’m sure to be an active member on this forum.
I love your post! Because we have children here ages 4 and under. They are fond of the water. I will take note of this post. Its very helpful and i like that you are concern in this topic.
We are glad to know that you like this post. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks also and you respond to queries and each comment. Water safety for our children is a serious concern. Its a matter of life or death scenario. The solution is we have to simply be mindful on the kids every minute.
Water is one of the most important element in the family for both the parent and children. As important as it may seem, it can cause a serious problem if not properly monitor. No doubt children love playing with water but they can’t take care of themselves around it. Water has caused different accidents in many homes, that’s why many parents need to follow proper guidance to safely guide the house especially their young ones. You gave excellent tips in the post above and I can tell you I’m guilty of some of it. I do leave my kids many times during bath maybe to pick one or two things for them but now I’ve realized. Thanks for these tips.
Thank you for your comment. Sometimes we do not realize that our act may be unsafe. It is always good to keep an eye on safety documents so that we do not miss the precautions we should always take. Thank you so much for visiting. Have a wonderful day.
Valid tips for young moms like me.The slippery part got me.can’t remember how many times I have been in and out of the clinic for both minor and major falls because of slippery floor due to water poured on the floor by the kids.I have bookmarked this page already.
Glad to know that you found the post informative. Sorry to hear that slippery floors caused you misery. Wish you a safe time. Have a wonderful weekend.
Some great tips and a good reminder to all parents, I think never leaving kids alone is probably the most important and it’s amazing how often some parents forget this (particularly one holidays!), I have witnessed this several times and always make sure we keep an eye on ours like Hawks!
Agreed. Never leaving kids alone is very important. Thank you very much for visiting and commenting.
This was very interesting and important content to me because I am a stay-at-home dad of three young boys. And although I love them to pieces, they don’t always make the wisest choices when it comes to playing time. Yet kids will be kids and adults need to be adults. Yet as an adult we need to learn how to prevent certain things to make sure that they will have a safe environment.
Agreed that kids do not make the wisest decisions because kids are kids. As adults, we need to think about the safety and take precautions. Thank you for your visit and the kind words. Have a wonderful weekend.
It is really important for parents to have information like this. When summer comes, I think we all have fears when going to the beach or pool. This family time does not have to be stressful. There are so many ways to have our kids save around water. Keeping the emergency number in everybody’s phone is essential!
I am glad to know that you found the post informative. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful day.
Your post is great, and I think you have covered all the risk that may come from using water in a way or another. Your style of writing is very informative and precise!
Thank you for your kind words. I have happy to know that you found the post informative.
Great article! Judging from the comments, water safety is of great concern to most if not all parents. The great debate is often when is the best age to start swimming lessons for a child and how safe is it to let a child alone in a pool even when they can swim to an extent.
I have not had any personal experience with near drowning but I have heard some really sad stories about a child wandering off and drowning in a pool. Or a beach side tragedy. The bottom line is one can never be too careful when it comes to kids.
I experienced near drowning in my childhood. Of course, the memory is not pleasant. I hope no one ever experiences that. I definitely agree, there is nothing called too careful when it comes to kids.
Thank you so much for visiting and commenting.
Oh, I am sorry to hear that. I never experienced any sort of drowning but my grandmother did. She always told me the story – when she was younger, she had an aunt where she spent her holidays at. The aunt had a big pond nearby her house and the children often went there to swim in the summer. So, one summer my grandmother and her sister went swimming at the pond (still pretty young) and my grandmother suddenly had leg cramps. Out of nowhere, she couldn’t swim anymore and started drowning… luckily her sister saved her. The aunt was nowhere to be seen which just shows how irresponsible that was and extremely dangerous. Even up to this day, my grandmother fears swimming. She goes to the seaside but only dips her feet into the water. She never swims.
Hope your experience didn’t traumatize you!
Sorry to hear about your grandmother’s fear of swimming. I was traumatized for some time but water was too much fun to avoid. I had two older siblings. I cannot let them have all the fun without me. I learnt swimming afterwards (I was seven or eight years old). I loved swimming ? . I was able to get over my near drowning experience.
Thank you for sharing your grandmother’s experience. Have a wonderful week.
Thanks for the tips! Just in time for the current hot days that we keep having here… we have anywhere from 30-40°C every single day. We have a boy that also loves water and anything related to it! He has been begging us for one of those blow-up plastic pools so he could swim in the backyard but I am a bit hesitant because it means that I’d have to keep my eye on him 24/7 when he’s inside. He can swim okayish so far… still not the best but he is an eager learner.
One time when we went to the swimming pools I was absolutely horrified when I saw some parents just leaving their small children to do whatever they want while they sunbathed and had their eyes closed. They should all read your wonderful article and learn about the water safety!
You are right. Keeping an eye on kids all the time is important, when there is water or any unsafe objects around. Definitely, a kid is not the best judge of a situation. Kids are just kids; they will do childish things. We, the grownups, need to take care of their safety.
I am happy to know that you prioritize safety concerns in children’s activities. I am sure our kids will have a great splashing fun this summer with just a little care from us.
Thank you so much for reading this article and commenting. Have a wonderful week.
Good and informative tips!
Like i always advice, kids are very inquisitive and very curious about a lot of things. Its good to teach them early in life when it comes to water safety. We should also consider the hazards associated with it and how to mitigate such.
Absolutely. Safety needs to be a priority. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
This is very informative. I will keep this in mind since I have a nephew who loved to jump in the water.
Glad to know that you found the post informative. Have a wonderful day.
It is essential that the hazards of the dangers of water are brought to attention. Whilst many underestimate the deadly power such places can have, when innocent and helpless children are placed in a situation in which they are not ready to be in, the problem can escalate fast. Glad that some people out there are taking this problem seriously.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Being around children when there is water or fire reduces the risk a lot. Thanks again for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful evening.
I do not think you have left anything to chance. The only thing I can add here is presence of mind. When there is a mishap those around should not panic but act in the most responsible way. Panic always results in taking wrong decisions. You have mentioned it already but I wish to say it again and that is no child should be left alone near any waterbody
I completely agree with you. Mindfulness is very important. Children need constant supervision around any waterbody, as you said. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I agree with your point on keeping an open mind, or should I say an open eye? Water safety around children is a must take measure by parents to avoid any mishaps. We can never be too careful or prepared when it comes to situations like this, we just need to always keep an eye on children whenever they play or are around large amounts of water.
Yes I totally agreed. Domestic safety generally should be enabled when kids are around. But yes priority should be placed on water safety. This is so because kids enjoy playing with water- who doesn’t ? And even above that they believe it’s not dangerous but in reality it is not “safe” if there’s no adult around to watch. In addition beyond domestic accident hazard aspect, leaving water around without proper watch of an adult could be dangerous because a kid could any water he or she found around when thirsty.
Thank you for adding to this post. Definitely, all domestic safety should be enabled. Thank you for reminding that children may even drink water from anywhere if not supervised. Our son is four but he does not realize the difference between drinking water in the jug and irrigation water in the backyard. Have a wonderful week.
I’d never heard of dry drowning before! Especially for little ones who are new swimmers and not used to regulating their breathing when they’re paddling around the pool.
Definitely going to keep this post for reference later this summer, when I’ll be taking care of a friend’s daughter and taking her to the pool a lot. 🙂
Glad to know that the post provided you a new piece of information — dry drowning. I appreciate your visit and comment. Have a wonderful week ahead.
Great tips you have there.I once had a neighbour who drowned because of poor swimming skills.As much as possible expose your kids to swimming classes early on in life, but these should be in a guided environment under the watchful eyes of their coach or you as parents.
I am sorry to hear about your neighbor. It is really essential to learn the safety skills including swimming as early as possible. Thank you very much for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful evening.
Thank you for a very informative post, and for following my blog. My kids are grown, but I have a new granddaughter. She’s not walking yet, but she will be soon. We watch her a lot, and we have a pool. I’m glad to see another family blog.
I am happy to know that you liked this post. Your children and your granddaughter are blessed that you live close by. Sometimes children move to other states for jobs and it becomes hard to visit frequently. I am also glad to find your blog. Thanks a ton for visiting our blog, following, and commenting.
Good article
Glad to know that you liked this. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Thanks, goodluck!
Kits that are drawn to water require a lot of looking after as well as plenty of instruction about water safety. Even then it might not be enough to keep them from jumping in and you aren’t looking.
Thank you for this information. I agree. Children’s behavior, especially that comes out of excitement, is unpredictable. Thanks for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
A good, informative post now that we are in the dog days of summer. People all too often think that kids are safe and secure around small amounts of water, which is sadly not so. But hopefully following these tips, everyone can stay safe, have fun, and enjoy the remainder of summer.
We are glad to know that you liked this post. Definitely safety needs to get the priority in all family activities, especially with small children around. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Wonderful tips here for keeping the family safe! Water sports are fun but one must always remember they are taking care of the smaller ones. Here’s to a fun summer for the whole family 🙂
Thank you! We wish you wonderful summer days as well.
Teach a child to swim as early as possible. Whole story in my post:
https://writingforme1961.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/dont-get-in-too-deep/
And a great thing I saw was to set a square laundry basket in the bathtub for the baby to sit in. It keeps them from tumbing over so much and keeps their toys within reach.
GREAT POST!!!
Thank you for the link of your post. I completely agree with you that teaching a child as early as possible is important. I heard that there are Y programs on swimming for children of as young as 6 months. It is also said that most children do not become proficient swimmers until they are six or seven years old. Some experts even suggest swimming training after four or five years after birth because most children are not good at following the swimming instructions before that.
The laundry basket idea is cool. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful day.
You took my reply right out of my mouth!
Thanks for the additional info badly needed that as I baby sit along with my kid. Teaching them to swim early adds more ease and comfort knowing they can manage in case of emergency in drowning.
Love your post. Excellent water safety advise!
We are glad to know that you liked the post. Thank you for visiting and commenting.