Water Safety Checklist: Making Your Home Safe

Many parents already know to never leave their child unattended in or around the water. But what many parents don’t realize is the water-risks that come from everyday items around the home. Use this checklist to ensure your home is water safety approved!  

Inside

Bathroom 

• Secure toilet seats with safety locks so children do not fall into the toilet bowl.  
• Drain bathtubs immediately after use.
• Never leave your child unattended in a bathtub, even for a moment. 

Did you Know? Children can drown in as little as two inches of water, and it can happen quickly and silently. 

• Ensure sinks are drained of standing water. 
• Buckets, mop pails and other cleaning containers should be emptied and stored upside down after use.

Pet and Household Water 

• Monitor your pet’s water bowls and teach your child these are only for animals.  
• Ensure decorative water features, like fountains, are kept out of reach.  
• Indoor plants should be watered to where there is no standing water, and watering pails should be emptied after each use.

Kitchen 

• Do not leave boiling liquids unattended on the stove, especially on front burners. 
• Place mugs, bowls and other hot liquid containers away from the edge of tables and other surfaces. 

Outside 

Pools 

• Install a four-sided isolation pool fence with a self-latching gate.

Did you Know? Fencing is one of the most effective ways to reduce drowning deaths among young children. Research suggests fencing can prevent more than half of all swimming pool drownings of young children. 

• Empty all buckets and kiddie pools after use.
• Keep toys out of the pool area when not in use to prevent children from being tempted to try to get through the fence during non-swim time. 
• Always cover and lock spas and hot tubs immediately after using them. 

More Tips 

• Water safety is a family affair and along with swimming lessons for your children, adults should learn CPR and safe rescue techniques.  
• Parents should start practicing water safety as soon as their newborn comes home. 
• Before a baby crawls or walks, check the yard for potential water dangers. 
• Be careful around wells, irrigation or drainage ditches, and open post holes in your yard.
• Ensure you have a designated “water watcher” when children are playing in a pool. This adult should know how to swim and be comfortable in the water.  

Drowning can be silent and fast, but it is also preventable. This checklist works best when combined with constant supervision, strong habits and multiple layers of protection. Together, we can help keep kids safe in and around water. 

To learn more water safety tips, visit Valley Children's Water Safety Program page!