According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more children (1 in 4) die from drowning than any other cause of death except birth defects. For children between the ages of 1-14, drowning is the second cause of unintentional injury death, after motor vehicle crashes.  Don’t be a statistic! While the cautionary list below is geared toward children, it applies to adults as well.

• Always ensure that there is adult supervision when children are swimming.
• Never leave a child alone in or near the water.
• Never let children swim alone; teach them to use the buddy system.
• Make sure children swim in supervised or designated areas.
• Never let a child swim during a storm or when there is lightening.
• Never use water wings and pool toys as life jackets. 
• Make sure children know the depth of the water.
• Don’t let kids dive or jump into water that is less than 9-feet deep.
• Don’t chew gum or eat while swimming, diving, or playing in the water.
• Keep a first aid kit, phone, and emergency numbers near the water.
• Learn CPR.
• Have each child aged four and older complete a swimming program.
• Enforce all pool rules, including no running, pushing people in, or dunking other swimmers.
• Be sure to remove all toys from the water after everyone is done swimming, so they don’t tempt small children to enter the water when an adult is not around.
• At the ocean, be careful of underwater currents and the wave action. Never run and dive into the waves head first.
• Don't swim in rivers, where fast-moving water is extremely dangerous and currents are hard to gauge.
• Don't overdo it when swimming; build up your endurance slowly.

Before venturing out into any body of water be sure to know your limitations!  Swimming is not child’s play, especially if you don’t know how to swim. Be smart, be careful, be wise when swimming!