05/15/2025
A popular Tiktokers 3 year old son has drowned causing another painful reminder that drowning is the #1 cause of death in children ages 1-4. It's silent, quick and does not discriminate. It happens to the best of parents- the ones that are right there. I hate that events like this remind parents, like myself, that water safety is crucial.
Memorial Day is a few days away, pools are opening and "drowning season" is beginning. I'm sharing six tips to bring to the forefront of your mind before you go enjoy the pool with your littles this coming summer!
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1. Install safety barriers: Door locks, pool fences, alarms- anything that will provide an extra layer of security and safety!
COVER your pool as soon as you get out. If you get out to grill burgers or sing happy birthday to someone, simply cover the pool back up. It takes a few seconds to do. You can open it right back up when it is swim time again. 60% of drownings happen in non-swim times.
*****If you own a pool in a neighborhood, you should close your pool even if you do not have little ones at risk. Many toddlers find their way to the neighbors pool. There is no reason to leave your pool open and unattended all day if you are not outside enjoying the pool yourself.
2. Keep large floats and balls/toys out of the water after swim time is over if you have littles. Many drownings happen when a child is reaching for an interesting toy or ball, and they gently slip into the water.
3. Assign a water watcher. 88% of drownings happen with at least one adult present. If everyone is watching the water, truly no one is watching the water. It happened to us last year, we were at a party and everyone was chatting (facing the pool), Cohen slipped into the deep end and was working on getting to his back float but I could tell he was panicked. I didn't see that he made to the deep end from the shallow end and it happened because there was not one person solely focused on the water.
The water watcher should never be on their cell phone.
4. If you are the water watcher, you SHOULD NOT be drinking alcohol. Self explanatory.
5. A child should never wear water wings, puddle jumpers or swim suits with built in floats.
They are dangerous, restrict arm movement and promote the vertical drowning position with a false sense off security and confidence. If a child is in the water, an adult should be in the water swimming with them ALWAYS. We should not be teaching children that they can get into water without adults. This is why most children elope back to the water by themselves. If a child can't independently swim or self-rescue, they need to be held, played with and given opportunities to swim to the steps etc. If you must put your child in something, life jackets are a better option but still not ideal.
*That being said- if you are by an open body of water, life jackets must be worn ALWAYS. If you are on a boat, even just sitting idle, life jackets should be on!
6. Lastly, enroll your child in ISR and keep your child in regular maintenance. ISR is the number one self-rescue program. Although the name is Infant Swimming Resource, it works for children as old as 6 and up. I am currently swimming so many 4, 5, and 6 year olds that are loving the program and doing amazing! Swimming lessons should be prioritized before ANY other extracurricular activity. Dance lessons don't save lives, self-rescue lessons do!
Please reach out to get on my schedule. We are booking for Carmel, Noblesville and Westfield. http://www.indyinfantswim.com
Thank you for reading this far! This is the MOST important safety information you will hear as a parent. More important than car seat safety, stranger danger, etc.
Please do not let your children become another statistic this year! Reach out if you have any questions. I am happy to help walk through this information!
Indy Infant Swimming Resource Instructors Barb Davis & Yiwen Fung
