1. Supervise with your eyes! Never leave a child alone around water of any kind, not even for a minute.
2. Designate an adult to be the Water Watcher. Their job is to watch kids in the water with no distractions like phones, social media, books, or even conversation. Take 15-minute shifts so everyone can enjoy the fun.
3. Teach kids to swim.
4. Create multiple barriers around pools and use pool alarms or door alarms to alert you if a child should escape your sight.
5. Drain all containers that hold water – a child can drown in as little as 1 inch of water. This includes kiddie pools and buckets.
6. Use a toilet lid lock.
7. Teach children that swimming in open water is not the same as swimming in a pool. They need to be aware of uneven surfaces, river currents, ocean undertow and changing weather.