Water Safety Month: How to Be Safe In and Around the Water

May is National Water Safety Month and the American Red Cross wants to ensure that every member of your family becomes water competent. This means being water smart, having swimming skills and knowing how to help others. Children and adults should learn to swim so they at least achieve the skills of water competency: be able to enter the water, get a breath, stay afloat, change position, swim a distance and then get out of the water safely.

CIRCLE OF DROWNING PREVENTION

Layers of protection are essential to help prevent drowning. Plan ahead for aquatic activities:

• provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising in or near water;
• fence pools and spas with adequate barriers, including four-sided fencing;
• learn swimming and water survival skills;
• children, inexperienced swimmers, and all boaters should wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets; and
• always swim in a lifeguarded area.

USEFUL LINKS

• You can find more water safety information, including how to respond to a water emergency, here.
• Check out our swim lessons information here.
• Have a home pool? Visit our pool safety information here.
• Consider the Red Cross Longfellow’s WHALE Tales class, which raises children’s awareness of safe behavior in, on or around the water! See more details here.

DOWNLOAD OUR APPS

The Red Cross Swim App promotes water safety education and helps parents and caregivers of young people learning how to swim. The Red Cross First Aid App puts instant access to information on handling the most common first aid emergencies at your fingertips. Download the free Red Cross Emergency App to receive emergency weather alerts as well as locations of open Red Cross shelters. Download these apps for free by searching for ‘American Red Cross’ in your app store or at redcross.org/apps. Learn First Aid and CPR/AED skills so you can help save a life.