BE
PREPARED!

Whether they’re swimming in a backyard swimming pool, at a community center, or at the beach, here’s some helpful tips for actively watching your child in and around water.

Know the pools your child visits and carefully determine if they are properly protected.

Keep rescue equipment near the pool.

Empty wading pools of all water after use.

Empty buckets of all contents after use and store upside down.

Complete CPR and First Aid training

Assign an adult "Water Watcher" while your child swims.

ABC's OF WATER SAFETY

A

Adult Supervision

Use eye-to-eye contact at all times, around all bodies of water.

B

Barriers

Block all openings and doorways that lead to pool areas.

C

Classes

Enroll children in swimming lessons at appropriate ages.

FACTS

DID YOU KNOW?

Backyard pools and spas account for over 80% of all drowning or near-drowning incidents.
Over one million backyard pools in California lack safety features because they were built before the Swimming Pool Safety Act of 1998. Is your child in or around one of these?
Children also drown in buckets, toilets, fish ponds, canals, ponds, lakes and rivers.
It takes less than one inch of water to cover the mouth and nose of an infant and/or toddler.

LAYERS OF PROTECTION FOR POOLS

FENCING: Enclosing your pool or spa with four-sided, non-climbable fencing is the best protection.
FENCE GATES: All gates to the pool or spa should be self-closing and self-latching.
DOOR & WINDOW ALARMS: All windows and doors that lead to the pool area should have alarms to alert adults when opened.
POOL COVERS & NETS: If a pool cover or net is used, make sure it has been federally approved as a safety device.