01Supervision: be the Water Watcher
Drowning is fast and silent. There is usually no splashing and no calling for help, which is why “everyone watching” so often means no one is.
Name one adult as the Water Watcher. For young children and weak swimmers, that person stays within arm’s reach: close enough to touch. Phones go down, conversations wait, and the Water Watcher tag is handed to the next adult every 15 minutes or so.
- Use a Water Watcher tag or lanyard so everyone knows who’s on duty.
- Stay within arm’s reach of toddlers, even when they wear a flotation device.
- Keep watching during breaks and cleanup, not just “swim time.”
- No alcohol, phones or books while you’re the Water Watcher.
02Barriers: fence the pool on all four sides
Most toddlers who drown in home pools were not expected to be swimming. They got to the water when no one realized they were gone.
An isolation fence surrounds the pool on all four sides and separates it from the house. Pool safety guidance calls for a fence at least 4 feet tall, hard to climb, with a gate that closes and latches by itself.
- Fence all four sides. The house should not be one of the sides.
- Use gates that self-close and self-latch, open outward away from the pool, and latch at least 54 inches high.
- Choose a fence at least 4 feet tall with gaps no wider than 4 inches.
- Never prop the gate open.
- Keep chairs, toys and planters away from the fence so children can’t climb them.
03Alarms: know the moment something changes
Children are curious and fast. A door alarm tells you the second a door to the pool area opens. A pool alarm tells you when something enters the water.
Alarms only work when they’re switched on, and busy days are when they’re most likely to be turned off. Parties, holidays and houses full of guests are exactly when you need them.
- Put alarms on every door and window that opens toward the pool. Code-compliant door alarms (UL 2017) sound within seconds of the door opening.
- In Pennsylvania, building code still lets the house be one side of the pool barrier if doors to the pool have alarms. A four-sided fence is safer.
- Add a pool alarm or a wearable wristband alarm as an extra layer.
- Test alarms regularly and keep spare batteries on hand.
- Make “alarms stay on” a house rule, especially when you have guests.
04Covers & drains: close off the water
A properly installed safety cover, meaning a certified one and not a floating solar cover, adds another barrier when the pool isn’t being used.
Small amounts of water are dangerous too. Empty kiddie pools, buckets and coolers after use, and keep bathroom doors and toilet lids closed around toddlers.
- Use a safety cover that meets the ASTM F1346 standard, and remove any standing water from its surface.
- Empty and flip inflatable pools after every use.
- Make sure pool and spa drains have anti-entrapment covers.
- Remove ladders from above-ground pools when they’re not being used.
05Swim skills: teach children, and adults too
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports swim lessons for most children starting after age 1. Research suggests lessons lower the risk for young children, but they don’t make any child “drown-proof.”
Adults need water skills too, both to keep themselves safe and to help someone else without becoming a second victim.
- Look for lessons that teach water competency: getting back to the wall, floating and turning.
- For babies and toddlers, look into ISR self-rescue lessons, which teach them to roll onto their backs and float. Our Swim Lessons page can help you find an instructor.
- Children with autism or other disabilities can benefit from adaptive swim lessons.
- Practice in clothes and in different places (pool, lake, beach).
- Lessons add to supervision and barriers. They never replace them.
06Life jackets: the right kind, every time
Weak swimmers and young children should wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket around open water, on boats and at the beach.
Air-filled toys like water wings, noodles and inner tubes are toys. They aren’t safety devices, and they can give adults a false sense of security.
- Check the label for U.S. Coast Guard approval and the right weight range.
- Fasten every strap. It should not ride up over the chin.
- Keep a life jacket on children at open-water outings, even on shore.
07Emergency ready: CPR and a plan
When a child is missing, check the water first: pools, spas, ponds, bathtubs. Seconds matter.
Bystander CPR begun right away can make a life-saving difference while emergency crews are on the way. Our mom, our Pops, our dad and the first responders all did CPR on Adam.
- Take a CPR class that includes infant and child CPR, and renew it every two years. After a drowning, CPR with rescue breaths matters.
- Keep a charged phone and rescue equipment (a reaching pole and a ring buoy) at the pool.
- Post emergency numbers and your home address near the pool.
- Teach everyone in the house to check the water first.