Home • Swim • Water Safety
Dive Into Fun!

Water Safety & Drowing Prevention

SWIM SKILLS SAVE LIVES

Teaching children how to swim and be safe around water is one of the most important life skills parents can help their children learn. Research shows that participation in formal water safety and swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning among children 1 to 4 years of age. Water acclimation not only saves lives, it builds confidence.

REGISTER Today Find a class near you

Safety Around Water

The SAW drowning prevention program is offered to pre-approved schools. Please contact your local branch’s Aquatics Director.

Teaching children how to be safe around water is not a luxury; it is a necessity. The YMCA’s Safety Around Water (SAW) program provides fundamental water safety skills for kids so that they know what to do if they find themselves in the water unexpectedly. Through the program, children learn that water should be fun, not feared, as long as you know how to stay safe.

CONTACT us now

FREE Safety Around Water Community Day

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024
1:00-2:00 PM & 2:15-3:15 PM

We look forward to seeing you at the event in 2025

As part of the Y’s commitment to reduce drowning rates and keep kids safe in and around water, the YMCA of Greater Waukesha County is opening up the Safety Around Water program to the community for FREE at the Mukwonago, Southwest, Tri County, Waukesha, and West Suburban branches on May 4. Families are invited to participate in the 60-minute water safety program, led by YMCA staff, to learn essential skills, including basic swim, safety, and survival skills.

According to the Center for Disease Control, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 to 4 years old and is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children from 5 to 14 years old. This program teaches children of all ages and backgrounds that water should be fun, not feared, if you know how to stay safe in and around it. Make sure to pack a swimsuit and towel! The whole family is encouraged to participate.

Ages 3 & Up: Pre-registration is requested as space may be limited.

Additional Resources

Drowning can happen nearly anywhere with standing water. But, as a parent or caregiver, you can’t keep your children sidelined. You need to equip them with the tools they need to be confident in and around water so they don’t lose out on the health benefits of exercise, the opportunities to bond with family and friends, and the sense of accomplishment when they learn new skills.

Childhood drowning is preventable. Here are a few Y water safety tips to help keep your children safe in and around water:

  • LEARN TO SWIM | The best thing anyone — children AND adults — can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim.
     
  • NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN UNATTENDED | Parents are the first line of defense in keeping kids safe in the water. Never leave children unattended near water, not even for a minute. If your child’s in the water, you should be too! Always assign a responsible adult as the designated Water Watcher who will keep a constant watch on any children in the water.
     
  • READ ALL POSTED SIGNS | Follow posted safety rules and warnings. Teach kids that being safe in and around the water is a personal responsibility – yours and theirs.
     
  • NEVER SWIM ALONE OR IN UNSUPERVISED PLACES | Teach your children to always ASK PERMISSION before they go near or into water and to swim with a buddy. Always assign a responsible adult as the designated Water Watcher.
     
  • SPIT IT OUT | Teach kids not to drink the pool water. To prevent choking, never chew gum or eat while swimming, diving or playing in water.
     
  • CHECK THE WATER DEPTH | The American Red Cross recommends 9 feet as a minimum depth for diving or jumping. If you or your family do not know how to swim or are weak swimmers, please stay in shallow water that is no more than waist deep on the smallest swimmer in your group.
     
  • USE APPROVED SWIM DIAPERS | Regular baby diapers are made to absorb liquid and will only hold so much water before the absorbent material inside the diaper will explode and damage pool filtration systems. 
     
  • AVOID WATER WINGS | Do not use air-filled swimming aids (such as “water wings”) in place of life jackets or life preservers for children. Using air-filled swimming aids can give parents and children a false sense of security, which may increase the risk of drowning. These air-filled toys are not designed to be personal-flotation devices and can easily deflate if they become punctured or unplugged.

READY

  • Create layers of protection between the water and your children.
  • Install alarms on doors and windows that lead to the pool.
  • Build a non-climbable fence between the house and the pool.
  • Use self-closing fence gates that open outwards with latches out of the child’s reach.
  • Have rescue equipment mounted by the pool.
  • Learn CPR.
  • Talk to adults that are caring for your child around water.
  • Enroll children in swim lessons.

SET

Watching is the most important thing to remember. Never leave your child alone near a pool, spa, bathtub, toilet, bucket or any standing water in which a child’s nose or mouth may be submerged.

  • Assign an adult Water Watcher who is committed to supervising the pool area.
  • Have phone access near the water area.
  • Wear personal floatation devices (PFDs) that are Coast Guard approved.

SAVE

  • Call 911.
  • Throw! Don’t go. Throw rescue equipment to the victim.
  • Begin CPR.

IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO…

  • Cross a room for a towel (10 seconds), a child in a bathtub can be submerged.
  • Answer the phone (2 minutes), a child can lose consciousness.
  • Sign for a package at the front door (4-6 minutes), a child submerged in a tub or pool can sustain permanent brain damage.

HOW MUCH WATER DOES IT TAKE TO DROWN?

  • Inches of water in a bathtub.
  • A bucket of water.
  • Standing water on top of a pool or spa cover.
  • Any amount of water that covers the mouth and nose.

DO PEOPLE ALWAYS YELL FOR HELP?

  • Most children do not yell for help.
  • Non-swimmers or exhausted swimmers are unable to call for help.
  • Drowning victims may be struggling under the water.

NEAR DROWNING

Survival After Submersion In Fluid

  • For each child that drowns, it is estimated that four children are hospitalized for near-drowning.
  • Nationwide, 2,700 children ages 14 & under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for unintentional drowning-related incidents.
  • As many as 20% of near drowning survivors suffer severe permanent neurological disability.
  • Nearly all who require CPR die or are left with severe brain injury.

AREAS OF RISK RELATED TO DROWNING

  • Home pools/spas/ponds
  • Inside homes
  • Natural bodies of water
  • Boating and personal water crafts

APARTMENT & RESIDENTIAL POOLS

  • More than half of drownings among children ages 1-4 are pool related.
  • More than half of these drownings occur in the child’s home pool.
  • Most children were last seen in the home and had been missing from sight for less than 5 minutes.

INFLATABLE POOLS & POOL COVERS

  • Inflatable and plastic pools should always be emptied after use.
  • Never leave toys or play objects in the pool water or near the pool area when they’re not in use. 
  • Remove steps from above ground pools.
  • Drain water off the top of pool covers.

DIVING BOARDS & SLIDES

  • Not all swimming pools are designed with diving in mind, especially residential pools.
  • Most spinal cord injuries result from diving into shallow water.

Drowning is the leading cause of death of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is estimated that 91% of all deaths for children with ASD between 2009-2011 were accidental drownings.

There are four reasons this happens:

  • WANDERING | Roughly half of children with an ASD attempt to elope from a safe environment, a rate nearly four times higher than their unaffected siblings.
     
  • LACK OF GENERALIZATION | Even if a child with ASD learns how to swim, it is sometimes difficult for them to generalize these skills to other areas where they may not have been before, such as a nearby lake or river.
     
  • LACK OF PERCEIVED DANGER | Many children with ASD do not realize danger when they encounter it. It’s common with more severe ASD to have a lack of judgment, as well as intellectual impairments, thus increasing the risk for drowning.
     
  • LACK OF AWARENESS & SERVICES | Many people don’t understand the increased risk to drowning that ASD causes and are unaware that it is the leading cause of death in autism. Therefore, it’s important that awareness programs be put in place to ensure the safety of children with ASD.

Here are some things you can do to help protect children with ASD:

  • Put in place preventative measures for your home pool, like pool gates, covers, fencing, and alarms.
     
  • Exposure to different beaches, pools, lakes or rivers that the child may have access to could potentially aid them in utilizing their swimming skills by learning to generalize the different bodies of water.
     
  • Ensure all pool safety measures are in place and keep an eye out for wandering. Supervision around any body of water can help reduce drowning.
     
  • Underestimate your child’s swimming ability. It’s always a good idea to insist that your child wear a life jacket, just in case.

Sources: AquaMobile Swim School | Children’s Therapy T.E.A.M. | National Autism Association

Life jackets are just as important as seat belts. If you don’t wear them, they won’t help you in an emergency! Individuals who don’t know how to swim or are considered weak swimmers should wear a “Coast Guard Approved” life jacket when playing in or around the water. 

How to Choose the Right Life Jacket

While boating, only 63% of 5-14 year-olds wear a personal floatation device (PFD), compared to 91% for children under age 5. EVERYONE on a boat should wear a PFD. A variety of types are available for different water sports, so check the manufacturer’s label to see the activities and conditions for which the PFD is appropriate. Have each family member try on their PFD before you buy it to make sure it fits properly and comfortably.

Learn More

PERSONAL FLOATATION DEVICES

  • All non-swimmers should wear PFDs when they are near water.
  • Each person on board any small craft or boat of open construction should wear a PFD.
  • Choose and wear only those PFDs that bear the label “U.S. Coast Guard Approved.”
  • Other floatation devices designed to serve as teaching aids are good for teaching situations and may be used  to assist swimmers, but they should not be relied on as lifesaving devices.
  • Anything that inflates can quickly deflate, causing you or your child to become distressed in the water. Please be aware of these false security items when swimming.

Sources: Center for Disease Control | YMCA Lifeguard Manual

Keeping kids safe around water requires a family commitment. Review the pledge below as a family and ask everyone to agree to follow the safety guidelines listed.

WE PLEDGE TO BE SAVE IN & AROUND WATER

As a family, we agree to do the following:

  • Always make sure an adult actively watches children around water.
  • Make sure an adult stays within arm’s reach of young children in the water.
  • Swim near a lifeguard.
  • Reach or throw, not go, to help a swimmer in trouble.
  • Consider enrolling children in swim lessons to help them stay safe around water.

Children should only swim under adult supervision. Use the checklist below to understand your role in keeping kids safe when you are responsible for supervising them in the water.

I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP KIDS SAFE IN & AROUND WATER

I agree to do the following:

  • Actively watch children who are in or around water.
  • Keep my eyes on the water.
  • Avoid distractions like talking on the phone, socializing or reading while watching children.
  • Keep a phone near water for emergencies.
  • Remain by the water until relieved by a new Water Watcher.
Play

Water Safety | Reach or Throw, Don’t Go

MORE SWIM PROGRAMS

SWIM STARTERS

Parent & child lessons

6 MONTHS & UP
Learn more

SWIM BASICS

Learn water safety and basic swimming skills

AGES 3 & UP
Learn more

SWIM STROKES

Skills to support a healthy lifestyle

AGES 6 & UP
Learn more
“During my son’s first swim lesson, he was so scared of being in or near the water. After working with his instructor, my son became an entirely new kid! He asks to go swimming everyday and plays in the pool with his friends! We are making great family memories thanks to the swim lessons at the YMCA.”
-Randolph Family