| 1) Never leave your child unsupervised near water at or in the home, or around any body of water, including a swimming pool. |
| 2) Do not rely on personal flotation devices (PDFs) or swimming lessons to protect your child. |
| 3) Make sure you have rescue equipment, a telephone, and emergency phone numbers near the swimming pool. |
| 4) Do not allow children to dive in waters less than 9 feet deep. |
| 5) Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and infant and child first-aid. |
| 6) Install childproof fencing around swimming pools. |
| 7) Insist that your child wear a US Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device on boats at all times. |
| 8) Do not allow children to dive in waters less than 9 feet deep. |
| 9) Blow-up swimming devices such as "water wings," rafts, toys, and other items are not considered safe and should not be relied on to prevent drowning. |
| 10) Never leave a young child alone in the bathtub, not even for a minute. Even supportive bathtub "rings" cannot keep your child from drowning. |
| 11) Keep bathroom doors closed and install childproof devices to keep your child out of the bathroom (such as doorknob covers). |
| 12) Remove toys from the pool so that your child is not tempted to reach for them. |
| 13) Do not let your child use a diving board in a pool that is not approved for it. |
| 14) Keeping electrical appliances away from the pool to prevent electric shocks. |
| 15) Keep a telephone near the poolside for emergency use. |
| 16) Avoid letting your child play with blow-up water toys in water that is above the waist. |
| 17) Teach your child to stay calm and tread water until help arrives if he/she drifts too far from shore. |
| 18) Insist that your adolescent always swim with a buddy. |
| 19) Encourage your adolescent to take swimming, diving, and water safety or rescue classes to give him/her the skills needed to swim and dive safely. These classes may also prevent your adolescent from acting recklessly. |
| 20) Teach your adolescent never to swim or dive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. |
| 21) Make sure your adolescent checks the depth of the water before diving. |
| 22) On boats, PFDs should be US Coast Guard-approved. In fact, many states require the use of PFDs on all boats at all times. |
| 23) It is important that the PFD is the correct size for your adolescent (life jackets are usually labeled "adult" or "child"). However, PFDs do not replace adult supervision. |
| 24) Empty any buckets or other containers with liquids. |
| 25) Keep toilets closed and/or use childproof toilet locks. |
| 26) Always empty blow-up pools after each use, and put them away. |
| 27) Avoid pool slides; they are very dangerous. |
| 28) Do not allow riding toys near pools. |
| 29) Do not allow your child to swim during thunderstorms or lightning storms. |
| 30) Do not let your child rough-house with others in the water in ways that may be mistaken for drowning. |
| 31) How to Prevent Child Drownings |
| 32) Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools |