We are water safety experts from the National Drowning Prevention Alliance! Ask us anything about keeping kids safe near water!

@ccfd1414 Congratulations on recognizing that the wonderful pool in your backyard is a hazard! Layers of protection are key and it seems that you are already well on your way. Four-sided isolation fencing that separates the pool from the house and yard is the best studied intervention. Others that might help are other things that slow a toddler down or alert you to them getting near water (door locks, door alarms, in water alarms, wrist alarms, etc). None of these is well studied so we can't tell you which is best. Consider if any work well in your situation. Also establish strong rules so that your child knows when is swim time and when it isn't. More than 70% of drownings in young children occur when they aren't expected to be in or around the pool (nonswim time)! It is so sad! Congrats for tackling this important issue!
 
@walterbl Swimsuit color can be important! Some muted and dull colors can blend in. Neon colors are great for the pool or beach if you can find them. However, that is just one of many safety recommendations to ensure your family's safety at a beach. You can learn more about the 5-Layers of Protection and get checklists and tools for the beach, boating, your backyard pool, and more at www.NDPA.org/firstsport
 
@prepared4all So a lot of the recommendations are based around pool drowning prevention but in one of your statistics bathtubs are mentioned. What should we as parents be doing to prevent bathtub drownings ?
 
@getoutthebox The most important recommendation when it comes to bathtime safety is to have close, constant, and capable supervision. Drowning happens fast, and it's silent. It only takes an inch of water covering the face to drown. Older siblings should not provide supervision for their younger siblings. Parents should maintain vigilent supervision at all times during bathtime. Do not leave the bathroom with a child in the bath at any time for any reason.
 
@followingjesusdaily1975 We don't recommend that anyone of any age swim alone and there should always be a responsible person who is watching the swimmers. Ideally the supervisor should be trained in CardioPulmonary Resuscitation, have a cell phone handy (but not on it), be skilled enough to intervene, and know the address where they are so they could call for assistance. I know teenagers are independent, but water is a hazardous environment, even good swimmers can drown and drowning happens quickly and quietly.
 
@ty_ty13 Excellent question! The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that most children are ready to begin swimming lessons as early as their first birthday. There is no evidence that participation in formal swim lessons before the age of 1 impacts drowning risk, however, many programs begin as early as 6 months. We do have limited research that suggests that children enrolled in formal swim lessons between the ages of 1-4 can reduce their drowning risk by up to 88%. We don't know what causes the reduction as the studies did not go that deep. Young children will not learn to swim traditional strokes at these ages but can learn basic survival skills, such as floating. We encourage parents to research the best swim lesson option for their family. We have a swim lesson checklist available at www.NDPA.org/firstsport that provides parents with questions to ask to learn-to-swim providers to find the right fit. It's never too early to begin the journey of learning to swim; however, it's important to remember that the children should be learning skills, and it's a process.
 
@prepared4all I saved a preschooler who was starting to drown a few years back. They were vertical in water over their head and starting to bob to the surface with a look of terror in their eyes and then go under. I noticed within a couple of bobs and fortunately I was really close by and able to pull them from the water before the lifeguard or their parent even noticed and they were fine.

Since then, I always feel hypervigilant in the public pool around other people's kids. I don't think that I have PTSD or anything, but I realized how fast someone can get in trouble and can't relax when other people's tiny children are not being fully supervised. Any advice on how to be vigilant but not hypervigilant? My own kids take swimming lessons, I keep my toddler in a life jacket, and they are always closely supervised.
 
@tracytray02 Wow! So glad you were there to save the child. It is super scary when something like this happens. We often hear from parents that drowning is fast and silent. It can happen in as little as 30 seconds, and most parents think they will hear and see it easily. Drowning doesn't look like it does on TV and movies. While there's no single thing that will completely eliminate the risk of drowning. We recommend the use of the 5-Layers of Protection that include: 1) barriers, fences, and alarms 2) close, constant, and capable supervision 3) water competency and swim skills 4) appropriate use of life jackets when in, on, or around natural water or when boating 5) Emergency preparedness including know CPR w/ rescue breaths. You can learn more about the simple steps that can help you keep you and your family safer around water at www.ndpa.org/firstsport
 
@reallayman01 Parents should do their research when it comes to flotation devices. Not all flotation devices are created equal, and not all devices on the marketplace are actually independently tested and approved. Parents should look for devices that have been tested and approved by the US Coast Guard (USCG). The USCG standards are designed to test for buoyancy and weight. Even though the USCG is only testing devices for their use on watercraft, it is better to buy a device that has been independently tested. All flotation devices should fit properly and be weight-appropriate for the wearer. Tested and approved flotation devices are super critical when in, on, or near natural water and when boating. But in a pool, they shouldn’t be overused or used in place of other layers of protection, such as supervision, learning to swim and using their skills. We also remind parents to practice all 5-layers of protection. Some manufacturers claim that their devices don't require supervision when worn or that the device will teach the child to swim. Regardless of a flotation device parents should always provide close, constant, and capable supervision. No flotation device will teach a child to swim alone, without proper instruction. Share the facts about drowning prevention and water safety with your family. We encourage everyone to visit www.NDPA.org/FirstSport to learn more about the importance of water competency and the 5-layers of protection.
 
@prepared4all My daughter (18m) is in her second year of ISR classes and is learning the skills, but seems to be getting more uncomfortable in and afraid of the water with time, not less. Is the benefit of ISR worth the fear she’s developing? Do we know if ISR is traumatic in the long run?
 
@storm1294 Fear of the water is a red flag. You might want to try a different teacher, class, or type of class. If she is in her second year, she should have some flotation and other safety skills. Find a way to reinforce these skills in a positive way where she is having fun and interested in participating. The main thing is that she develop the life saving skill of floating. This will ensure that even if she never likes the water, at least she can survive if she falls in. I hope that she will once again find that the water can be fun. You can play games with her in the water to help her get over her trepidation.
 
@storm1294 Look into Infant Aquatics classes. Same basic survival skills, but far less fear based than ISR and have play based weekly continuing education classes. I’ve taken dozens of kids to ISR classes over the last 20 years as a nanny and none of them ever had fear of the water or hated the classes. Infant Aquatics is the only option where I live now and what I take my own son to. Given the option between the 2, I’d choose IA every time.
 
@prepared4all At some swim classes, they seem to throw the baby/toddler in or put them under when they aren’t expecting it. Could that lead to secondary drowning? We took an infant swim class where they didn’t do that but at the next level did and it really scared me
 
@musicc Excellent questions! Secondary drowning and dry drowning are not actual conditions. In very rare circumstances, a child or adult who experienced a non-fatal drowning (the victim was rescued) may ingest a very small amount of water into their lungs. If that happens, the water may interfere with the lung’s ability to pull oxygen out of the air. Over a period of a few hours, the victim will start to display signs of respiratory distress (blue lips, blue nailbeds, labored breathing, lethargy, etc.). If these signs are noticed in a recently rescued drowning victim, they should be transported to an ED for evaluation. This is very treatable! Again, I want to repeat this is RARE and will only occur in the immediate hours following a non-fatal drowning incident. Swim instruction programs should have protocols that limit the number of times a child is submerged in a single lesson if they come up coughing. This should be monitored during lessons, but typically isn't an issue for young children if the program manages it appropriately. Never hesitate to ask your learn to swim provider for what their protocols are and how often they allow a child to be submerged during a lesson. You can find more information on swim lessons and the 5-layers of protection at www.ndpa.org/firstsport
 
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