🛁 Water safety and drowning prevention

Before water play or bathing

• Put the towel, soap, nappy and clothes within reach before starting.
• Put your phone away and clearly agree which adult is supervising.
• Check access to baths, buckets, water-storage containers, toilets, ponds and pools.

Build safe habits

1. 1. Stay within reach

   Support baby throughout the bath and supervise young children continuously. Never leave an older child responsible for keeping a baby safe in water.

2. 2. Take baby with you if you must leave

   Ignore the phone or doorbell. If you need to step away, lift baby out, wrap them in a towel and bring them with you.

3. 3. Empty and secure containers

   Empty baths, buckets and paddling pools after use. Secure stored water with suitable lids and prevent access to bathrooms and other water hazards.

4. 4. Check pools and outdoor water

   Use barriers that separate a pool from the home and play areas, with a self-closing, self-latching gate. At shared pools, do not assume a lifeguard is watching your child. Use a properly fitted life jacket for boating; avoid floodwater and drains.

5. 5. Prepare for an emergency

   Learn infant and child CPR. If a child is in difficulty, get them out only if you can do so safely, call 999 or 112 and follow dispatcher instructions and your training. Emergency response is not guaranteed; have a backup transport plan and ask another adult to arrange help while you provide first aid. Seek urgent medical assessment after a drowning incident.

Classic mistakes

• ❌ Trusting equipment instead of supervision A bath seat can tip, a swimming aid can slip, and a pool alarm only alerts you. None replaces an adult watching closely.

Same topic

• 🧸 Babyproofing the house (when baby goes mobile)
• 🍬 Preventing choking and swallowing hazards
• 🪜 Preventing falls at home
• 🧴 Preventing household poisoning

Read next

• 🛁 Safe bath time: a practical guide for dads
• 🚨 Getting trained in infant & child first aid