Water safety tips for parents

Parents need to act knowledgable and responsibly with regard to child water safety.  Children can drown in buckets of water, toilets, bathtubs, natural bodies of water as well as pools.  It doesn't take much water to be of danger to a young child.

Tips for Infants - Home Hazards

1. Infants and toddlers are not able to protect themselves from drowning, even in a few inches of water.
2. Children this age are most at risk of drowning in bathtubs or by falling into large buckets around the house. Many bathtub drownings happen when a parent leaves a small child alone or with another young child
3. NEVER leave a young child alone, even for a few seconds. Children must be watched by an adult at ALL TIMES while in the bathtub

Toilets, buckets and other large containers commonly found in the home are also very dangerous for a child of this age.  Every year there are reports of children who have leaned forward while looking into an open toilet or large bucket, tipped into the bucket and drowned.

1. Empty all buckets and any other containers after each use
2. Never leave a small child alone in a bathroom
3. Keep bathroom doors closed at all times
4. Keep toilets closed or use toilet locks to keep small children from falling into them.