Water-Safety 101: Basic Guidelines

Boating safety

• Check weather and water conditions before leaving shore.

• Don't drink and boat. Alcohol is a factor in many boating accidents. Choose a designated boat driver who will not drink.

• Insist that everyone wear a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device or life jacket while on board.

• Always tell someone where you'll be boating, when you expect to be back, and what your boat looks like.

• Keep Coast Guard-approved visual distress devices, such as pyrotechnic red flares, orange distress flags, or lights on board.

• Don't carry more passengers than the maximum listed on the boat's capacity plate.

Home-pool safety

Here's how to keep your family safe:

• Enclose your pool with a fence, wall, or other barrier at least 4 feet tall. Install self-latching gates that open outward.

• Don't assume your child can swim. Many children forget how to swim when panicked.

• Keep a portable phone in the pool area. Program emergency contacts on its speed dial.

• Keep a close eye on children and nonswimmers who are using inflatable toys, inner tubes, and mattresses. They could slide off them and drown.

• Closely supervise children when they are diving or jumping in the pool. Head and back injuries are likely to occur during these activities. Do not allow anyone to dive head-first into a pool unless there is a clearly marked safe-diving area.

• Make sure everyone stays away from drains and other pool openings. They can create strong suction that can trap swimmers, especially children.

• Keep the pool's deck area clear of tripping hazards like toys, dishes, and hoses.

• Review safety measures and rules with guests before they swim.

Safety musts for children

• Never leave a young child alone in a bathtub, wading pool, swimming pool, lake, or river. If you must answer the phone or get a towel, take the child with you.

• Be aware of backyard pools in your neighborhood or apartment building. Your child could wander off and fall in.

• Enroll children in swimming lessons taught by qualified instructors. But remember, the lessons won't make children "drown-proof."

• Teach your older children that they risk drowning when they overestimate their swimming ability or underestimate water depth.

Safety musts for adults

• Take swimming lessons from a qualified instructor if you're not a strong, competent swimmer.

• Don't swim if you've been drinking alcohol.

• Don't swim alone or let others do so.

• Stay out of the water during thunderstorms and other severe weather. During lightning storms, find shelter away from metal objects, open areas, and large, lone trees.

• Don't exceed your swimming ability. Know your limits and stick to them.

• Check the water level before diving into a pool, ocean, pond, reservoir, or lake. Always dive with your arms extended firmly over your head and your hands together.

• Don't dive into unknown bodies of water, like lakes, rivers, quarries, or irrigation ditches. Jump feet first to prevent hitting your head (and breaking your neck or back) on a shallow bottom, hidden rock, or other obstruction.