Open Water Safety Checklist

A family's one-page guide to safer lake, beach, and river days

WaterWiseKids.com — Free water safety education for families

Review the night before, on the drive in, and poolside/beachside before anyone enters the water.

🏠 Before You Leave Home

Check the weather and water conditions — pull the forecast, tide chart (beaches), river flow rate (NOAA for rivers), and lake advisory page. Cancel or reroute if thunderstorms are forecast within 4 hours or a small-craft advisory is active.
Pack a Coast Guard-approved life jacket for every child — Type II or Type III (or Level 70/100 on jackets made since 2025), properly fitted. Water wings, puddle jumpers, and inflatable toys are NOT life jackets and do not prevent drowning.
Dress children in bright, high-contrast swimwear — neon yellow, orange, and pink are visible underwater; blue, green, white, and black disappear. This matters more in murky open water than in pools.
Pack a dry bag with phone, ID, and keys — your phone must work if you need to call 911. Many drownings delay 911 because the phone was wet.
Bring a throwable rescue aid — a rescue tube, throw bag, or even a pool noodle extends reach and gives a distressed swimmer something to grab without pulling you in.
Assign the first Water Watcher before you leave — one adult, no alcohol, no phone, rotating every 15–30 minutes. Write names and shifts on the back of this sheet.

Locate lifeguards and the nearest help — if there are no lifeguards, note the exact address of your entry point (pin it in your maps app) so you can relay it to 911 in seconds.
Read posted flags and signs — beach flag colors: green (low hazard), yellow (moderate), red (high hazard/strong currents), double red (water closed), purple (dangerous marine life). Red flag means no children in the water. Ever.
Scan for rip currents (beach) — look for channels of churning, choppy water; areas with noticeable differences in water color; lines of foam or debris moving steadily seaward; and breaks in the incoming wave pattern.
Check river current and strainers — rivers hide sudden deep drops, submerged logs, and "strainer" branches that trap swimmers. Never let children wade past knee-deep in moving water without adults in the water with them.
Walk the shoreline for hazards — glass, fishing hooks, sharp rocks, jellyfish, blue-green algae mats. In lakes, algae blooms with a blue-green, paint-like surface are toxic — do not swim or let dogs drink.
Mark a clear "boundary" for each child — point to a physical landmark (dock post, buoy, flagpole). Kids who swim past a visible marker get called back before they get out of reach.

One designated Water Watcher at all times — eyes on the water, within reach of non-swimmers, no phone, no book, no alcohol, no side conversations. Trade shifts on a timer.
Touch supervision for non-swimmers — infants, toddlers, and weak swimmers stay within arm's length of an adult in the water at all times. No exceptions for "just grabbing a towel."
Buddy system for every child — no child enters open water alone, even confident swimmers. Each child has a named buddy and both get in and out together.
Life jackets on in boats, docks, and fast-moving water — always. Most boating drowning victims were not wearing life jackets. Docks count; falls from docks into cold water happen faster than rescue can reach.
Skip earbuds and sunglasses for the Water Watcher — drowning is silent. You will not hear it. Sunglasses cut glare but also cut your ability to read a child's face under the water surface.
No diving into unknown water — murky lake and river bottoms hide rocks, stumps, and shallow spots. Head and spinal injuries from shallow-water diving are life-altering. Feet-first entry only, always.

Reach, Throw, Don't Go — from shore or dock, reach with a pole, oar, or shirt. Throw a life jacket, rescue tube, cooler, or anything that floats. Only enter the water as a last resort if you are trained.
Caught in a rip current? Swim parallel to shore — don't fight straight back. Swim sideways along the beach until you feel the pull release, then swim in at an angle. Teach every child this rule before you go.
Cold water shock: float first, swim second — sudden immersion in water below 70°F triggers involuntary gasping. Keep head above water, float on your back for 60–90 seconds until the gasping passes, then move to safety.
Call 911 for severe breathing trouble, blue or gray color, unresponsiveness or difficulty waking. Anyone who needed rescue breaths or CPR after drowning needs emergency care. Persistent or worsening cough, fast breathing or unusual behavior need prompt medical attention.
CPR: If unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 911 and follow the dispatcher. After drowning include breaths if able. See the age-specific CPR reference.

Drowning is silent and fast. Most drowning children do not splash, yell, or wave. They slip quietly beneath the surface. Active supervision is your single strongest protection.
Pool swimming skills do not fully transfer to open water. Currents, temperature, waves, and visibility change everything. A strong pool swimmer can still drown in a lake or ocean.
The #1 cause of open water drowning is no life jacket in boats and moving water. The single best thing you can do is insist on Coast Guard-approved life jackets, always, on all children near boats and moving water.