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Parent’s Guide to Water Safety
A child can drown in only 30 seconds, an adult in 60 seconds.
Drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children.
At Home
 | Home Safety Rule Number One: Always supervise toddlers in
the bathroom. |
| Never leave a baby or toddler alone while bathing, not
even long enough to run to the phone or answer a doorbell.
Remember, a child can drown in only 30 seconds. |
| Take a safety inventory of your home and yard. Remove
items such as five gallon buckets and children's swimming pools
after use. Note any drainage areas in your subdivision. Make
sure pools, spas, hot tubs, and fishing ponds are barricaded
by multiple levels of protection. A child can
drown in as little as two inches of water. |
| Get
involved and volunteer to provide water safety talks
with a park ranger to church groups, school groups or other
civic groups. Our goal is to save lives. |
Around Pools and Lakes
| Learn to swim. It is the first step towards water
safety. |
| Provide constant supervision and demonstrate safe water
practices. Remember: a lifeguard’s job is to provide
safety, not supervision. |
| Teach your children to wait for permission to get in the
water. |
| Swim only in designated swimming areas. |
| Never swim alone. |
| Don’t over-estimate your swimming skills. |
| Never rely on toys such as inner tubes and water wings to
stay afloat. |
| Discourage habits such as diving into shallow water,
playing in drainage ditches, and running on docks or pool
decks. |
| Learn infant/child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). |
Learn "Reach, Throw, Row, Don't
Go!"
Most people drown within 10 to 30 feet of safety. Learn these
few simple techniques to help someone in trouble and keep
yourself safe.
| Reach: To help
someone in the water, reach first with a fishing pole,
towel, boat oar, but don't get in the water yourself. |
| Throw: Scan your
area for items such as an empty milk jug, cooler, ring buoys
that can be thrown to someone in the water. |
| Row: It's not safe
to go near a swimmer with the boat motor running. Use the
oars to bring the boat close enough to reach or throw
something to them. |
| Don't Go: Without
expert training and experience in lifesaving techniques, you
could put yourself in danger along with the person you
are trying to help. |
Keep This Checklist On
Your Boat
 Float
plan - let a friend know when you're leaving, where you're
going, when you expect to return, what to do if you don't, and
a description of your boat
Charts of the area
and compasses
Registration
certificate or documentation
Personal Flotation
Devices (wearable and throwable) - cg approved, good
condition, readily accessible, assigned and fitted
Fire Extinguishers -
right number, size, and class for boat; charged, not corroded,
nozzle clear, bracketed, readily accessible
Visual Distress
Signals - current dates on pyros, proper number, batteries
good if lights or epirb
Anchors and Line -
adequate anchor for bottom, adequate line for water depth
DeWatering device -
bilge pump operable, alternative bailing device available
Watch or clock -
operable
Boarding ladder (or
other means of boarding)
Heaving lines - at
least 30 feet with monkey fist
Mooring lines - bow,
stern, and spring lines, preferably three-stranded nylon with
an eye in one end and of adequate length for your boat and
mooring conditions
Bright flashlight or
searchlight
Navigation lights -
tested and operable, spare bulbs
Batteries - fully
charged, encased in plastic boxes or terminals covered,
securely fastened down
Sound producing
device - horn, whistle appropriate for boat
Alternate propulsion
- paddle or oar
Boat hook(s)
FCC license - if VHF
radio, radar, epirb or other transmitter aboard and you plan
to enter a foreign country
Oil discharge and
trash placards affixed - if required by boat size
Bell - if required
by boat size
First Aid Kit
Gauges - functional
and reading properly
Ventilation - power
ventilation operable (blower) and natural ventilations cowls
open and clear
Tools and spare
parts
Depth sounder, lead
line, or sounding pole
Compass
Copy of Colregs (NavRules)
- if required by boat size
Spare propeller and
lock nut
Sunscreen and sunhat
Extra
clothing...wool sweater, gloves, socks and other articles for
warming if temperature drops or someone gets wet
Binoculars
AM radio...static on
AM forewarns of nearby lightning
Drinking water
Personal needs like
prescription drugs
Carry a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
navigation chart. Follow this link to navigation
charts from the Corps homepage.
Carbon
Monoxide Poisonings on Houseboats
Tips on Life Jackets
| Wear your life jacket. They float-you don't. |
| Always choose Coast Guard approved life jackets. |
| A snug fit is essential. In addition to checking weight
and size requirements, try the life jacket on your child.
When picked up by the life jacket shoulders, the child’s
chin and ears shouldn’t slip through. |
| Infant and toddler life jackets should roll the child onto
his back and keep his head above water. The life jacket
should have a rounded flotation collar with a grab strap if
possible (United States Coast Guard approved TYPE II). |
| Again, let the child select his or her life jacket. Kids and
adults are more willing to wear a vest that feels and looks
good. |
| Check life jackets for tears, loose buckles and straps,
dry rot or mildew. |
Flooding
| Determine if you are in a flood-prone area by calling your
local emergency management office or Red Cross chapter. |
| Plan and practice an evacuation route. |
| Have disaster supplies on hand, including a
battery-operated radio. |
| Designate a point of contact for flood situations in case
the family is separated. |
| Avoid driving in flooded areas. |
| If your car stalls, abandon it immediately. If the water
exceeds 1/3 the height of your tire, the car is weightless. |
| If advised to evacuate, do so immediately. |
| Find weather information for your area online.
|
Visit these sites for
weather maps, forecasts, and current conditions.
| Offshore
Weather.com |
| NOAA Directory
of 500 Sites |
| NOAA Home Page |
| The National
Weather Service |
|
WeatherNet |
| The Weather Channel |
|
USA Today Weather Page |
| Buoy
and Ship Reports |
| National Weather
Bureau Interactive Weather |
| Storm
Prediction Center, Norman, OK |
| Marine
Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD |
| Tropical Prediction
Center, Miami, FL |
|
Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Guam |
|
Atlantic Tropical Weather Center |
| Pacific
Meteorology Center, Pearl Harbor |
|
Doppler Radar Images from Around the U. S. |
|
Meteosat Imagery (Europe, Africa, East Asia, Eastern and Central Atlantic) |
| GMS
Imagery for Western Pacific, Asia, and Australia |
|
National Radar Image |
|
AccuWeather |
| Lowe's Hurricane
Center |
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