Important rules of water safety for kids

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I remember the day as if it were yesterday. We had our summer holidays and Mama had taken us to the local hotel pool to swim. It was a hot morning so we had the pool to ourselves for a good while till another mother and her preschool-aged son joined us. After about an hour we all got out and headed for the changing room. As we stepped out my mother noticed something floating in the pool…

it was the little boy.

His mother turned around to put things back into her bag and in just those few seconds he found his way into the pool. Thankfully the story ended well.

The little boy recuperated quickly but that moment remains etched strongly in our minds.

Important rules of water safety for kids

Not all drowning stories have happy endings. Almost 800 children, under the age of 5, die every year because of a drowning accident. As parents we can’t prevent our children from going near water. How fair would that be?

Instead we need to be proactive about safeguarding them when we know they will be in swimming pools and/or tubs or near bodies of water.

1. Teach your child how to swim as early as possible.

2. If you own a pool or there’s a body of water on your property, irrespective of how shallow it may be, install fences or protective guards around the area.

3. If your child is a beginning swimmer, ensure he always has protective swim aids on till you or his swim instructor is 100% he doesn’t need the same.

4. If possible, learn CPR and emergency first aid especially if you are around children even for small pockets of time in the day. You never know when you may need this.

5. Keep all electronic distractions in your bag especially when your kids are in the pool. It only takes a few seconds for a child to drown. Stay close to your child always.

Nationwide’s Make Safe Happen website has more useful (and helpful) tips to empower you to be a more alert, proactive parent when it comes to keeping your child safe near water. The Make Safe Happen app is another resource you will want to download not just for water safety tips but general safety tips for kids too.

Nationwide has also created a great infographic to help clear misconceived notions many of us parents may have.

For older siblings, educate them on the water safety tips shared above and empower them to swim safely and be that extra set of eyes for you when the little ones are in the pool or at the beach, with them.

Here’s a fun photo hunt to get them involved. Ask your kids to circle the differences between the two pictures:

Will you join me in promising to make swimming safer this year?

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