A Reminder About Water Safety This Summer

I want to share a short story, not to frighten parents, but to remind all of us how quickly time around water can change.

A few years ago, I had a moment as a mom that I will never forget.

I took my two kids swimming at a community pool with friends. We were all sitting in the hot tub, but another mom and I decided to move to the nearby pool. We left the kids in the hot tub for just a minute. Our older kids could swim, and my younger daughter, Micaela, was about five. She couldn’t swim yet, but she could sit on the side of the hot tub. I thought she was safe.

A minute later, my older child calmly called to me, “Mom, Micaela’s drowning.” She said it so casually that at first I thought she was joking.

Then I looked over and saw Micaela in the middle of the hot tub. She wasn’t splashing or yelling. Her head was still above water, but she was quietly sinking lower and lower. I jumped out of the pool, scraping my knee in the process, and grabbed her right before her head went under.

People always say drowning is silent, and it absolutely is. As a mom, I made an assumption about my child’s safety. I was nearby. There were other adults around. It still almost happened.

According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States. That statistic is terrifying, especially because most of us picture drowning looking dramatic and obvious. Usually, it doesn’t.

As we head into summer, here are a few important reminders for all of us:

Supervise children closely around water
And by water, I don’t just mean pools or lakes. Babies and toddlers can drown in as little as an inch of water. Bathtubs, toilets, buckets, kiddie pools, and even coolers can be hazards.

Don’t assume somebody else is watching your child, even if there’s a lifeguard nearby. It helps to designate an adult whose only job is to watch the kids in the water. Put phones away and actively watch, because drowning can happen quickly and quietly.

Make sure pools are enclosed with fencing
The CDC recommends four-sided fencing with self-closing and self-latching gates around home pools. Many drownings happen when kids quietly wander into a pool area unnoticed.

Wear life jackets
Whether you’re boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, or swimming in lakes and rivers, properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets matter, especially for kids and weaker swimmers.

Floaties and water wings are fun, but they are not safety devices and can give kids and parents a false sense of security.

Enroll kids in swimming lessons
Swimming lessons help. They can reduce the risk of drowning and help kids feel more confident around water. But even kids who know how to swim still need close supervision.

Learn CPR
CPR is one of those things you hope you never need, but if you do, seconds matter. The Red Cross and American Heart Association both offer CPR classes online and in person.

One of the biggest things I took away from my experience is this: drowning usually does not look the way we expect it to. It is often silent, fast, and easy to miss.

Before your next trip to the water, take a few minutes to decide who is watching the children and what safety steps are in place. 

The American Red Cross also offers a free online Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers course for anyone who wants to learn more about keeping kids safe around water this summer: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/classes/water-safety-for-parents-and-caregivers/a6R3o0000012oT8.html