Children's Water Safety Advice and Resources

Our free Children's Water Safety Advice references include printable fact sheets, quizzes, lesson plans and children's water safety colouring pages to educate both youngsters and adults about the risks of drowning both at home (e.g. in a pond or bath) or away from home (e.g. in a river, canal, lake or in the sea) and the benefits of learning the Water Safety Code i.e. Spot The Dangers .... Take Safety Advice .... Don't Go Alone .... Learn How To Help.

Not surprisingly, in the UK the majority of water related fatalities occur during hot summer months and school holidays when older children and teenagers may take risks and when younger children may be left unsupervised in a garden with a swimming pool or pond. It's important that children are educated about the hazards and risks associated with bodies of water whether it's a small garden pond or large reservoir. Make sure they learn the Water Safety Code.

	The RNLI provide free detailed advice on Beach Safety for kids and grown-ups including an explanation of the safety flags used on UK beaches. Other information on hazards and dangers at the seaside covers the safe use of inflatables (like airbeds and children's novelty inflatables), how to deal with rip currents and how to surf safely. There are printable posters too. Beach safety resources also include the RNLI's Beachwise Campaign which encourages kids and adults to only swim at lifeguarded beaches. Look for lesson plans and free interactive games and quizzes.
	'Wild Over Waterways' have a Waterside Safety Challenge and other educational resources relating particularly to water safety for canals, rivers, ponds and lakes. Aimed at children around 7-11 years old this site encourages kids to stay SAFE i.e. Stay Away From the Edge. Free printable lesson plans, worksheets and activities for school or home include a safety board game, 'Spot The Hazards' and role play for what to do if somebody has fallen in the water and may be drowning. Other related resources include canal colouring pages.
	Australia's Royal Life Saving Society have a great website with plenty of free fun stuff for kids to educate them about the risks and hazards associated with water. There are children's on-line colouring pages with water safety themes and excellent downloadable printable booklets with activities and games for all ages including colouring pages, spot the danger, and quizzes with varying difficulty multiple-choice questions. Advice, too, on how to behave at the swimming pool and how to stay safe by rivers, lakes and by the sea.
	The Water Safety for Children pages at ROSPA not only have printable PDF fact and advice sheets but also details of the Water Safety Code, Spot the Dangers, a guide to water safety signs and beach flags, and emergency procedures and rescue methods. There's a Water Wise Quiz too plus plenty of free printable information sheets.
	Learn a First Aid Procedure for Drowning courtesy of the BBC which explains what drowning is, the aims of first aid and describes appropriate emergency action that should be taken during and after a waterside emergency. Then visit their Drowning Activity multiple choice quiz that puts you at the scene of an incident and tests your knowledge of first aid procedures.
	The message for 7-11 year olds is Don't Go In. Junior School kids can take a free interactive river journey to encourage them to enjoy being by rivers, canals and waterways in a safe and sensible way. The hidden dangers of bridges, locks, currents, weirs, etc., are explained through a combination of photographs, video film clips, fact sheets and printable educational worksheets. A fun interactive quiz covering 'Do's and Don'ts', hypothermia and water safety signs is here too plus printable colouring pages (in the Documents section) cover 'Going for Help', dialling 999 and the danger of canal locks. Other water safety advice for children covers the dangers of locks, sluices, pollution, algae, weirs, wading in and jumping in.
	Help teenagers and older children Understand Hazard & Risk with a free water safety information pack funded by ROSPA and the Environment Agency which goes by the name of RUA Dummy 2?. Aimed at schools, youth clubs, volunteers, etc., there are notes, handouts, video clips on a CD and teachers resources to explain water safety to teenagers and older children with the aim of reducing the number of drownings and accidents in rivers, lakes, ponds, sea, etc. Perfect for secondary schools.