Make sure you know what to do in case of an emergency. The sooner a child is rescued from the water and adequate CPR is begun the better the ultimate outcome will be. Finally, remember that drownings do not occur only in swimming pools. They happen in hot tubs, bathtubs, toilets, ice chests and even buckets. Careful supervision around all these potential hazards is essential.
Many parents ask about swimming lessons for infants and toddlers.
The effectiveness of swimming instruction in the first few years of life has not been rigorously evaluated. We discourage it because it can give a false sense of security - an infant who has been taught to swim is still not likely to do so well enough in an emergency. Remember to use a good sunscreen on your children when they are outside playing. You should use this on the exposed skin of all children, no matter how young, whenever they are going to be outdoors for more than 5 minutes. If you drive a van, jeep, or truck, be aware that backing over a child playing in their own driveway was reported as the most common category of motor vehicle accident causing injury to children in one recent study.