Always keep watch of your child in and around water.

Supervision is the single most important thing you can do to prevent drowning. Whether you’re at home, at the pool, or near any water source—children need constant, active supervision.

What is Active Supervision?

Active supervision means focusing all of your attention on your children all of the time, when they are in, on or around the water. Parents need to be within arms’ reach, interacting with children and ready to enter the water in case of an emergency. When you’re in or around water with your child, supervision should be ‘eyes on’ and ‘hands on’ at all times.

Parents are busy and often try to do many things at once to save time. However, multi-tasking can lead parents to become distracted. Children can wander away unnoticed while parents attend to other tasks such as answering the front door, reading an email or attending to dinner in the oven.

Supervision is an Adult’s Job

Older children are not equipped to supervise younger siblings around water. They may not recognise the signs of trouble or may hesitate to act in an emergency. Supervision must always be the responsibility of a capable adult.

Even with Others Around – Don’t Assume, Be Sure

In group settings, it’s easy to assume someone else is watching. Sadly, this often means no one is truly supervising. Take turns being the dedicated “Water Watcher” to ensure constant vigilance.