Parents, caregivers and teachers
Ten short games that teach children ages 4 to 12 the water-safety habits that matter most. Here is what each one teaches, where the advice comes from, and how the games protect your child’s privacy.
The games cover the habits children can practice themselves: swim with a buddy, ask before going near water, spot hazards at home, read the beach flags, wear a life jacket that fits, get out of a rip current, and help a friend without going in. Every safety message comes from a public safety source: the American Red Cross, NOAA and the National Weather Service, the U.S. Lifesaving Association, the U.S. Coast Guard, Water Safety USA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely campaign or the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The sources are listed with each game and at the end of this page.
Games don’t replace supervision
The games are a conversation starter, not protection. Children still need an adult watching whenever they are in or near water, plus swim lessons, fences around pools and life jackets that fit.
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Most drownings of children 4 and younger happen when they are not expected to be in the water. This game teaches children to notice standing water and open barriers, and to tell an adult.
Learn more: Water Hazards at Home: A Room-by-Room Checklist
Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)
Ten everyday choices at the pool, beach and lake, with a one-line reason for each. Good for talking through your own family’s water rules.
Learn more: Pool Rules for Kids: How to Teach Them So They Stick
Sources: American Red Cross, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org), American Red Cross, American Red Cross, American Red Cross
Uses the flag meanings approved by the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA). Flags are a local choice and not every beach uses them, so the game ends by teaching children to read the beach signs and ask a lifeguard.
Learn more: Beach Warning Flags: What Each Color Means
Sources: United States Lifesaving Association, National Weather Service (NOAA), American Red Cross
Walks through the checks from the U.S. Coast Guard, the American Red Cross and Water Safety USA: a Coast Guard-approved jacket, the right size on the label, every buckle and zipper closed, and the arms-up pull test.
Learn more: How Should a Life Jacket Fit? The Fit Test
Sources: U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division, Water Safety USA, American Red Cross, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org), American Red Cross
Follows NOAA, the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross: rip currents pull you away from shore, not under; don’t swim against the current; swim parallel to the shore, then back at an angle; or float and wave for help. Best of all, swim near a lifeguard.
Learn more: Rip Currents: How to Spot One and How to Escape
Sources: National Weather Service (NOAA), National Weather Service (NOAA), NOAA National Ocean Service, American Red Cross
The American Red Cross calls these five skills water competency. Children learn them in swim lessons with trained instructors. Even children who can do all five still need an adult watching.
Learn more: Water Competency: The 5 Skills That Can Save Your Life
Sources: American Red Cross, Water Safety USA
“Reach or throw, don’t go” is how the American Red Cross teaches safe help: shout for help, reach with something long or throw something that floats from dry land, and call 911. Children should never go into the water to rescue someone.
Learn more: Reach or Throw, Don't Go: How to Help Someone Who Is Drowning
Sources: American Red Cross, American Red Cross, American Red Cross, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
A Water Watcher is an adult whose only job is watching children in the water, with no phone or other distractions. The six pairs each come with a water-safety habit.
Learn more: How to Supervise Kids Around Water: Touch Supervision and Water Watchers
Sources: Pool Safely (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission), American Red Cross, American Red Cross, American Red Cross
A mix of the most important habits from all the games, in quiz form. Works well in a classroom: read each question aloud and let the class vote.
Learn more: Water Safety for Kids Ages 5 to 12
Sources: American Red Cross, American Red Cross, NOAA National Ocean Service, United States Lifesaving Association, National Weather Service (NOAA), American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org), American Red Cross
Nine short sentences that build water-safety vocabulary. Read them aloud with younger children and talk about what each word means.
Learn more: How to Talk to Kids About Water Safety Without Scaring Them
Sources: American Red Cross, Pool Safely (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission), National Weather Service (NOAA), American Red Cross, National Weather Service (NOAA)
Interactive tool
What do red, yellow, green, purple and double red beach flags mean? Tap a flag for its meaning and what to do, then test yourself with a practice round.
Interactive tool
Learn to spot a rip current, put the National Weather Service escape steps in order, and practise how to help someone safely from the shore.
Interactive tool
Find the right life jacket size, style and label level by weight, age, swimming ability and activity, based on U.S. Coast Guard guidance, plus a fit check.
Interactive tool
Check yourself or your child against the five Red Cross water competency skills, see what to practise next, and review water smarts and safe helping.
Printable
A pledge for kids and grown-ups to read, tick and sign together: ask first, swim with a grown-up watching, wear life jackets, and get help without going in.
Printable
A poster of the safe way to help someone in trouble in the water: shout and call 911, reach from solid ground, throw something that floats, and don't go in.
Printable
A poster of what beach warning flag colors usually mean, from double red to purple, with the reminder that flags vary by beach and no flag doesn't mean safe.
Lesson plan
A free 35-minute water safety lesson for kindergarten to grade 2: ask before going near water, a grown-up watches, life jackets, and shout for help.
Lesson plan
A free 45-minute lesson for grades 3-5: the five water competency skills, why drowning is quiet, life jacket fit, reach or throw don't go, and how to call 911.
Every game works with touch, a mouse or a keyboard (Tab to move, Enter or Space to choose, arrow keys to swim in Rip Current Escape). Screen readers hear each question and each answer. Sound is off until you turn it on, and animations stop when your device is set to reduce motion.