Drowning Prevention

Four steps to prevent drowning: actively supervise, teach children how to swim, check drain covers, and learn CPR.

Steps to help prevent drowning:

Active supervision

  • Watch kids closely when they are in or around water.
  • Avoid distracting activities, like being on a phone. Drowning happens quickly and quietly.
  • For preschool-aged children, “touch supervision” is recommended. This means an adult is within arm’s reach of the child.
  • Consider having kids wear bright or neon colored swim suits that greatly contrast with the color of water. This may make them easier to see underwater.
  • Learn more about Active Supervision.

Learn to Swim

  • Teach children basic swimming and water safety skills.
  • Swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning.
  • Enrolling children in swimming lessons. Consider swim lessons for yourself to improve your swimming skills and comfort in the water. It’s never too late to learn to swim.
  • Remember: Children who have had swimming lessons still need close and constant supervision when in or around water.
  • While swimming lessons can contribute to water safety, they do not erase the risks of swimming. Conditions such as water temperature, air temperature, weather, water depth, water movement, and other factors can affect an individual’s swimming ability.
  • Watch this YouTube video on Learning to Swim.

Check Drain Covers

  • Stay away from drain covers or pipes. Suction from drains and pipes can trap people under water.

Learn CPR

  • Get trained in CPR. Contact the American Red Cross or other community organization to find CPR lessons near you.
  • If drowning has occurred and the victim is not breathing, bystander-initiated CPR is the most effective way to promote a positive outcome.
  • Watch this YouTube video on CPR.

What does drowning look like?

What does drowning look like? The signs of drowning: Facing shore, mouth at water level, head tilted back, body vertical, climbing ladder motion.

Movies and TV often show drowning as loud and dramatic, with people splashing and yelling. In real life, drowning is usually quiet and hard to notice.

When someone is drowning, their body goes into an automatic survival mode called the Instinctive Drowning Response. This means:

  • They usually cannot yell for help because their body is focused on trying to breathe.
  • Their mouth keeps going above and below the water as they struggle to get air.
  • They can’t wave for help. Their arms push down on the water to try to keep their head up.
  • Because they’re using their arms to stay afloat, they can’t grab a rescuer or rescue equipment.
  • Their body stays upright in the water and they don’t kick their legs.
  • This struggle typically lasts only 20 to 60 seconds before they slip underwater.

Other signs someone may be drowning or struggling in the water include:

  • Their head is low in the water, with their mouth right at the surface.
  • Their head is tilted back and their mouth is open.
  • Their eyes look glassy, empty, or unable to focus.
  • Their eyes may be closed.
  • Their hair might be covering their face.
  • They aren’t kicking their legs.
  • Their body stays straight up and down in the water.
  • They’re breathing very fast or gasping.
  • They’re trying to swim but not moving forward.
  • They may try to roll onto their back but can’t.
  • They may look like they’re trying to climb an invisible ladder in the water.

Drowning Incident: What to do

If you see someone showing signs of drowning, follow these steps:

  • Notice the signs that someone is in trouble and call out for help.
  • If you can reach or help the person without putting yourself in danger, get them out of the water.
  • Point to one specific person and tell them, “Call 911.”
  • If you’re alone, give two minutes of rescue breathing and CPR before calling 911.
  • Start rescue breathing, then begin CPR.
  • Use an AED if one is available, and hand the person over to EMS when they arrive.

Even if the person wakes up after being taken out of the water, you should still call 911. They need to go to the hospital to make sure there are no hidden problems.

For more information on the importance of learning CPR to water safety, visit our Lifesaving Skills page.