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Sonja Brownlee, MD.
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Last Updated 1/2010
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Water Safety
Water Safety (0-11 months)
Water Safety (1-5 years old)
Water Safety (0-11 months)
- Set water heater temperature to 120° F maximum.
- Always check the bath water before placing your baby in the water.
- Bathe baby on a wash cloth to prevent slipping. Hold him/her under the arms during a bath.
- Once your baby can sit up, bath seats and rings can be used as bathing aids. However, your baby can slip through them and they will not prevent drowning if your infant is left unattended.
- Install no-slip strips on the bottom of the bathtub. Put a cushioned cover over the water faucet so your baby won’t be hurt if s/he bumps into it.
- Never leave a baby alone in a bath or near a pool of water, no matter how shallow it is . Infants can drown in just a few inches of water!
- Once your baby can pull to a stand, never leave him/her alone around containers of water, such as buckets, wading pools, ice chests or open toilets. Baby’s heads are very heavy and once they fall into such a container, they cannot push themselves back out.
- Babies should not be taught how to swim or to hold their breath when going under water . Many babies have suffered water intoxication during these attempts. No baby is ever swim safe! A “mommy and me” type swim class is fine if you hold your baby at all times and keep his/her head above water.
Water Safety (1-5 years old)
Toddlers, Preschoolers:
- Never leave your baby, toddler, or preschooler even for a few seconds, in or near any body of water without supervision: including the bathtub, wading or swimming pool, hot tub, fish pond, stream, lake, or ocean.
- Be aware of small bodies of water around you : ponds, ditches, creeks, fountains, rain barrels, troughs, watering cans or buckets for washing the car, etc.
- Your toddler’s head is quite “top heavy” and s/he can drown in the toilet, an ice chest, a water bucket when washing the car, etc.
- Don’t store the bath tub plug on the edge of the tub or anywhere your child can reach it.
- Your child should always wear a PFD (personal flotation device) when riding in a boat. It fits properly if you can’t lift it off over your child’s head after s/he’s been fastened into it. For the child under age five, the PFD should have a flotation collar to keep the head upright and the face out of the water.
5 years and older:
- Never leave your child, even for a few seconds, in or near water without supervision (including bathtub, wading or swimming pool, hot tub, fish pond, stream, lake, or ocean) even if she knows how to swim.
- Enforce safety rules at the pool: no running near the pool and no pushing others underwater.
- Beware of inflatable toys or mattresses: they may deflate suddenly or your child may slip off them into water that is too deep for him/her.
- Have your child learn how to swim from a qualified instructor .
- Even if your child can swim, supervise directly when s/he is in or near water (pool, hot tub, stream, pond, lake, or ocean). Do not trust an older child to watch your 5 year old!
- Be sure your child knows where the deep/shallow ends, stairs, ledges, etc, in a pool are.
- Never allow your child to dive in the shallow end of a pool or to dive into streams, ponds, or lakes before you check underwater for obstructions.
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