Water Safety

Ascension Sites > Dell Children's > Our Healthcare Services > Safety and Injury Prevention > Safe Kids Austin > Water Safety

Drowning is the leading cause of death from an unintentional injury among children ages 1 to 4 years old, but drowning is 100 percent preventable. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, a day at the lake, or a dip in your neighborhood pool, make sure everyone stays safe in the water by following a few basic safety tips.

Top Safety Tips

  • When your child is swimming, give him or her your full attention and constant visual supervision
  • Put down your phones to prevent distraction and keep young children within arm’s reach
  • Teach children to swim and learn to swim yourself
  • Make sure kids learn these five essential water safety skills:
    • Step or jump into water over one’s head and return to the surface
    • Tread water for one minute
    • Turn around in a full circle and find an exit from the pool
    • Swim 25 yards to exit the water
    • Be able to exit the water. If in a pool, exit without using the ladder
  • Children should always wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when on a boat or around open bodies of water. In fact, it is required by Texas law for children under age 13 to wear a life jacket on vessels under 26 feet. Make sure the life jacket fits snugly around your child and that it cannot be pulled up above his or her ears
  • Install fences around backyard pools. A pool fence should completely surround the pool, be at least four feet tall and have self-latching gates
  • Empty bathtubs, buckets, and kiddie pools immediately after use
  • Learn CPR and basic water rescue skills so you are prepared in case of an emergency

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