A is for Adult Supervision

1. Did you know that drowning is the number one cause of unintentional injury and death in California for children under the age of 5 years? More California children aged 0-5 will die from water-related injuries than from motor vehicle accidents.
2. Continuous, active, direct line-of-site supervision by a responsible and designated adult is the best method for prevention of water-related injuries and death among young children.
3. Children should always have adult supervision.

B is for Barriers

1. Did you know that drowning continues to be the 2nd leading cause of injury-related death in children aged 1-14 years in the United States, despite a 40% decrease in the childhood drowning death rate since 2001?
2. Making sure barriers are in place between your home and swimming pool or spa. The extra time gained will help you get to your child before an injury happens. Most drownings occur because of a lapse in adult supervision. Even the best parent finds it challenging to watch a child every minute of every day. Barriers act as ‘layers of protection’ that prevent water-related tragedies from occurring.
3. The best pool barrier is a 4-sided fence (a fence that surrounds the pool to separate it from the remainder of the yard) with a self-closing and self-latching gate that opens outward. The barriers must separate the pool from the home. If the home opens directly to the pool, door alarms and locks should be installed.

C is for Classes

1. Everyone should know how to swim!  CPR and first aid classes for adults, and swimming lessons and water safety classes for kids will make sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency.  Check with your local municipal recreation department or district to find out if they offer swimming lessons.  There are also certified swim instructors listed in the yellow pages.

Sources - ABC's of Water Safety - WaterSafe.org and Layers of Protection - National Drowning Prevention Alliance

Drowning: “The process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid.” There are three outcomes for a person who experiences drowning:

1. death,
2. survival with morbidity (brain damage),
3. survival with no morbidity

Drowning Is a Leading Cause of Death for Children in the United States

• Ten people die each day from unintentional drowning, and on average 2 of them are under age 14.
• Drowning is the leading cause of death in autism for children and adults.
  • Children with autism spectrum disorder are 160 times more likely to experience nonfatal and fatal drowning than their typically developing peers.
• Among those 1-14, drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind motor vehicle crashes. 
• For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency care for nonfatal submersion injuries.

The Most Dangerous Locations Vary by Age

• Children younger than 1 year old are more likely to drown at home.
• For children younger than 5, 87% of drowning fatalities happen in home pools or hot tubs.
  • Most take place in pools owned by family, friends or relatives.
• After pools, bathtubs are the second leading location where young children drown. However, buckets, bath seats, wells, cisterns, septic tanks, decorative ponds, and toilets are also potential drowning sources for infants and toddlers.
• Those 5 to 17 years old are more likely to drown in natural water, such as a pond or lake.

Drowning Risks Vary by Race and Household Income

• 64% of African-American, 45% of Hispanic/Latino, and 40% of Caucasian children have few to no swimming skills.
• When parents have no/low swimming skills (or competence) ability, their children are unlikely to have proficient swimming skills. This affects:
  • 78% of African-American children
  • 62% of Hispanic/Latino children
  • 67% of Caucasian children
• African-American children ages 5 to 19 drown in swimming pools at rates 5.5 times higher than those of Caucasian children in the same age range.
• 79% of children in households with incomes less than $50,000 have few-to-no swimming skills.

Drowning Risks and Statistics in California

• Between 2016 to 2021 there was a total of 10,081 total drowning incidents in the state of California.
  • Between 2016 to 2021 there was 155 total number of drowning deaths in the Central Coast area.

Having real facts and figures to show the importance of water safety shows the realities of drownings in our communities around the nation. These facts come from the following sources - American Red Cross Drowning Prevention and Facts and California Water Safety Coalition: Water Safety Strategy.

Top 3 Reasons for Swim Lessons at any age:

1. Building Confidence and Safety
2. Developing Life-Saving Skills
3. Promoting Physical Fitness and Well-being

Swimming provides joy, freedom and endless opportunities to create lifelong memories in and around water, from backyard pool parties with friends to family beach vacations and beyond. Whether you’re in a pool, at the beach, or swimming in a lake, there’s nothing better than splashing around in the water on a sunny day. Taking swim lessons can give you or your child the skills to safely join in on this activity this summer. Swimming is joyful, especially when it’s safe.

The City of San Luis Obispo Parks & Recreation Department understands that water safety can be difficult to talk about with kids. The City' SLO Swim Center wants to provide the community with a few resources to help children learn about water safety while having fun in and around water.

Please visit the American Red Cross Water Safety for Kids webpage for fun training tools for children and free online training courses for adults. See below for other resources to support Water Safety at your home. 

Swim by American Red Cross (Free App) 

• Red Cross Swim, sponsored by The ZAC Foundation, can help children and adults learn to be safer in and around water. Knowing how to swim is exciting and opens the door to many opportunities, but water is not without risk. Learning to enjoy the water safely should be the first step for anyone who will be around water. Have fun learning water safety in an engaging way with video and activities for kids and families. Track your kids’ progress with this FREE app as they learn to swim. 

American Red Cross Water Safety Ambassador (Free Online Course) 

• The Becoming an Ambassador for Water Safety course covers fundamentals of water safety provides an orientation to Red Cross materials to teach water safety in a dryland classroom-based setting and offers ideas on how to implement water safety education in your community. This online course is intended for teachers as well as adult and youth leaders in the community who are committed to sharing Red Cross resources to impact drowning rates especially in places that are most at risk for drowning. 

American Red Cross Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers (Free Online Course) 

• The Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers Online Course focuses on developing an awareness of the risks of drowning and how to minimize those risks especially for young children. This online course teaches parents and caregivers about the concepts of the circle of drowning prevention water competency and the chain of drowning survival. It also provides guidance for applying water safety to common environments and situations where children are most at risk for drowning.

Seguridad en el Agua para Padres y Cuidadores (Curso en línea gratuito) 

• El curso de Seguridad en el Agua para Padres y Cuidadores se centra en desarrollar conciencia sobre los riesgos de ahogamiento y cómo minimizarlos especialmente en niños pequeños. Este curso en línea enseña a los padres y cuidadores los conceptos relativos al círculo de prevención de ahogamiento la competencia en el agua y la cadena de supervivencia ante el ahogamiento. También proporciona orientación para aplicar la Seguridad en el Agua a entornos y situaciones comunes donde los niños corren mayor riesgo de ahogamiento.

Let's Dive Into the Deep End of Water Safety with 5 Tips for Different Water Areas

How to Swim Safer in the Ocean or at the Beach...Being water competent in the ocean requires stronger and different skills than in a pool. Whenever you are at the beach, ocean or other open water environment, watch and prepare for:

1. Fast-moving currents and waves and changing tides, even in shallow water.
2. Drop-offs that unexpectedly change water depth.
3. Unexpected changes in air or water temperature. 
4. Hazards, such as underwater obstacles, rocks and debris. 
5. Vegetation, marine animals and fish

Be Aware of the Danger of Rip Currents - Responsible for most rescues performed by lifeguards, rip currents can form in any large open water area (including the Great Lakes), such as low spots and breaks in sandbars, or near structures such as jetties and piers.

How to Avoid Rip Currents

• Check conditions before entering the water: are any warning flags up? Ask a lifeguard about water conditions, beach conditions, and potential hazards.
• While in the water, stay at least 100 feet away from piers and jetties. Permanent rip currents often exist near these structures.

How to Escape from a Rip Current

• If you are caught in a rip current, stay calm and don’t fight it.
• Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current. Then, turn and swim to shore.
  • Alternately, float or tread water until you are free of the rip current and then head to shore.
• If you can’t make it to shore, draw attention to yourself by waving and calling for help.

If Someone Else Is Caught in a Rip Current

• If someone is in trouble in the water, get help from a lifeguard.
• If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 9-1-1.
• Throw the victim something that floats – such as a lifejacket, cooler or inflatable ball – and yell instructions on how to escape the current. Do not attempt a rescue yourself unless you are a trained beach lifeguard.

How to Swim Safer in Rivers and Other Natural Environments… Being water competent in natural water requires additional knowledge and skills than in the pool. Whenever you are near a lake, river, stream or other natural water environment, watch and prepare for:

1. Unexpected changes in air or water temperature. 
2. Fast-moving currents and waves, even in shallow water.
3. Hazards, such as dams, underwater obstacles, or rocks and debris. 
4. Vegetation, marine animals and fish.
5. Other people’s activities in the same waters, such as boating. 

How to Create a Safer Home Pool or Hot Tub… Layers of protection are essential to help prevent drowning. Plan ahead for aquatic activities at home:

1. Secure your pool with appropriate barriers when not in use.
2. Designate a water watcher…and stay in arm’s reach of young children.
3. Install anti-entrapment drain covers and safety release systems to protect against drain entrapment.
4. Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors. 
5. If a child is missing, check the water first.

Sources - American Red Cross Swimming Safely at the Beach, American Red Cross Swimming Safely in Lakes, Rivers & Streams, and American Red Cross Home Pool & Hot Tube Safety.

1. If a child is missing, check the water first: seconds count in preventing death or disability!
2. Alert the lifeguard, if one is present.
3. Recognize the signs of someone in trouble and shout for help. A swimmer needs immediate help if they:
   • Are not making forward progress in the water.
   • Are vertical in the water but unable to move or tread water.
   • Are motionless and face down in the water.
4. Rescue and remove the person from the water (without putting yourself in danger). 
5. Ask someone to call emergency medical services (EMS). If alone, give 2 minutes of care, then call EMS. 
6. Begin rescue breathing and CPR. 
7. Use an AED if available and transfer care to advanced life support.

Source: American Red Cross – How to Prepare for Emergencies (Water Safety)

Take the pledge to be a safer swimmer! Print the I am a Safer Swimmer Pledge, sign it, and bring it to the SLO Swim Center to get a small prize.

Research shows that we're more successful at meeting goals when we join forces with others. Join the movement to reinforce the importance of water safety. Take the pledge, spread the message, and become an advocate in your community today. 

"I am a Safer Swimmer" Pledge 

• I pledge to never swim alone.
• I pledge to never play or swim near drains or suction fittings.
• I pledge to always enter feet first. 
• I pledge to always obey the pool or facility rules.