23/05/2026
Happy Memorial Day from Happy Valley ISR!
This is a PSA about CHILD WATER SAFETY in and around pools for kids ages 1–4. May is National Water Safety Month, and with individual and community pools opening up for the summer, I want everyone to enjoy the water but also have quality information about keeping their little ones as safe as possible.
Water is the number one danger to children ages 1–4 years old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) lists drowning as the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1–4 (https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/prevention/index.html).
The vast majority of accidents happen in pools during times when children are not supposed to be in the water, often when adults are nearby. Drowning can happen fast (~30 seconds) and, contrary to popular imagination, is often silent.
Here are some tips for keeping your little ones safer in and around the water this weekend:
1. Have LAYERS OF PROTECTION around pools: doors with locks, door and pool alarms, fully enclosed pool fences with self-closing and self-locking gates, pool covers, etc. Double check each safety measure to ensure it is working properly before using the pool. Additionally, move tables, patio chairs, and other furniture/large objects that kids can climb on away from the pool fence.
2. Constant PARENTAL SUPERVISION. If your child is in the water, you should be in the water within arm’s reach.
3. Pay extra attention to TRANSITION TIMES—e.g., when the kids have gotten out of the pool to eat, you’re packing or loading up your car to go home, you’re checking your phone to see about the weather, the best route to your next destination, or looking at social media, etc. Most accidents happen when children during non-swim times.
4. Use properly fitting, US Coastguard-approved FLOTATION DEVICES for what they are designed to do: safety in open water settings. The US Coastguard does not rate life vests or puddle jumpers for use in pools, and flotation devices should never be a substitute for parental supervision. Flotation devices in pools give unskilled children a false sense of buoyancy and teach them a vertical posture in the water (the “drowning position”).
5. Have a designated adult “WATER WATCHER” and rotate turns every 15 minutes or so—and no phones during your watch! There is an old adage in the water safety community: if everybody is watching, nobody is watching. Many water accidents happen when parents are nearby.
6. Dress your little ones in BRIGHTLY COLORED SWIMSUITS, not pastels and other colors that, while perhaps fashionable, can camouflage them in the water. Finding your child quickly in a public space is always helpful, and every second matters in a water emergency.
7. PUT AWAY POOL TOYS after every use. Many accidents occur because children—even those who know not to go into the water without an adult—fall in trying to get a pool toy.
8. Get your children formal SWIMMING LESSONS that prioritize independent skills and finding air, such as a face-down, eyes-open swim to a safe surface and a survival float. The data indicates that formal swimming lessons for kids reduces the risk of drowning (e.g., https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/381058), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) now recommends children take swimming lessons as young as 1-years-old (https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0850). Most recently, an academic study in the journal Injury Prevention has also demonstrated the effectiveness of self-rescue swimming for children in this age range for reducing drowning risk (https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2025-045688).
9. For those with their own pools, aim jets toward the shallow end of the pool and always keep the WATER LEVEL at its uppermost point so children can reach the pool edge. Disable waterfalls and other features that create COMPETING NOISE.
10. Learn PEDIATRIC CPR and keep your skills updated.
11. If your child is missing, ALWAYS CHECK THE WATER FIRST!
Stay safe this weekend and every day—and please share as well as comment if you have any questions about children’s water safety!
