• Always be alert to possible dangers
• Teach children to swim as young as possible, including survival skills such as floating and treading water.
• Supervise children constantly while they’re in or near water. A child should never swim alone.
• If a child cannot swim, keep away from places where they can drown.
• Remember: buoyancy aids such as inflatable wings and tubes are only aids. Do not rely on them to protect your child from drowning.
• Warn against boisterous play in or near water, such as riding bicycles or running on dam walls or around swimming pools.
• Teach your child how to stay afloat in water with their clothes on.
• Never let children dive or jump into water they don’t know, or when people are in the way.
• If a child has cramp in the leg, relieve the cramp by pressing firmly on the area or by straightening the leg and flexing the toes upward toward the knee.

Rule no. 1: keep calm.

• Raise one arm and call for help.
• Tread water or float.
• Find something that floats, to cling to.

Never try to swim against a current.

• In the sea, swim parallel to the beach.
• In a river, swim diagonally with the flow.

• Throw the child an object that you know will float; or offer a long object to hold on to. This is better than jumping in yourself — at all costs, avoid a double tragedy.
• Don’t let other children jump in the water to help others.
• If you must go into the water, take something for the child to hold on to rather than letting them hold on to you.
• Teach children not to pretend they’re in trouble in the water when they’re not.
• Do child CPR if the child is not breathing or has no heartbeat.
• Always take a child for medical observation after a near-drowning incident.

• Always supervise your children while they’re in or near water. Give them your undivided attention, even if they know how to swim.
• Never leave small children unattended in the bath. Ignore the phone and the doorbell. If the disruption is unavoidable, take the child with you when you attend to the call.
• Always empty baths, buckets, containers and paddling pools immediately after use. If you must keep them full, keep them behind locked doors.
• Always fit lids firmly on buckets of water and nappy buckets.
• Always keep toilet seats closed and install locks on toilet seat
• Always keep doors to bathrooms and laundry rooms closed
• Use a non-slip mat in the bath.
• Teach everyone in the household simple rescue methods and first aid — especially resuscitation methods.

• Always make sure there is an adult present when children are swimming.
• Always ensure that children who can’t swim wear approved floating aids, such as water wings.
• Never rely only on floating aids to prevent drowning.
• Swimming pools must be completely secured with fencing, a gate with child-proof lock, safety covers and pool alarms. Always close the gate.
• Check whether your neighbour’s swimming pool has adequate fencing and the gate is secure.
• Comply with municipal by-laws relating to water, swimming pools, hoses, boreholes and wellpoints.
• Remove toys lying around the pool, to avoid children tripping over them.
• Install a professional pool safety net to cover your pool.
• Always empty paddling pools when not in use.

• Always adhere to “no swimming” warning signs.
• Beware of strong currents. Children can be swept away, even on floating toys such as lilos.
• Children should always wear life jackets when on a boat, or when fishing from the shoreline.
• The sea is unpredictable. Supervise children continually.
• Accidents happen in an instant. To allow a child in a boat or canoe without a lifejacket is asking for trouble. The same applies for fishing from the rocks.

• How to swim with clothes on, float and tread water.
• To only swim when an adult is present.
• Not to play, run or ride a bike around swimming pools.
• To only swim in designated swimming areas and if a lifeguard is on duty.
• How to deal with currents, undertow and uneven surfaces in open water.
• To never jump in to help when others are in trouble.