Water safety for kids

You hear devastating stories of families losing loved ones to drowning each year. Drowning can happen quickly and quietly. Thirty-eight Utahns died from drowning in 2024, with 25% of those deaths being children aged 18 and younger. More than half (51%) of all Utah children who drowned were between the ages of 1 and 4 years old. Most child drownings (56%) happen in the summer months, June through August. Bodies of open water (canales, lakes, or rivers), swimming pools, and bathtubs were the most common places children drown.

However, most drownings are preventable. Joel Johnson, from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, has some easy tips to keep your kids and family safe near the water.

●      Take swimming lessons.

●      Wear a life jacket around open bodies of water, like rivers and lakes—even if you know how to swim. Those aged 12 years and younger are required to wear life jackets on open water. A large number of Utah’s State parks have life jackets you can use for free.

●      Have a water watcher. A water watcher is an adult who actively supervises children and teens in and around the water at all times. Actively supervising means the adult isn’t doing anything that may distract them, like reading a book or talking on the phone. If there is a group of adults, take turns being the water watcher.

●      Make sure children and teens always swim with an adult. Drowning can happen to anyone, even good swimmers.

●      Never leave your child alone in the bathtub.

●      Enclose pools and hot tubs with self-closing and locking gates.

●      Drain kiddie pools and buckets of water when not in use.