Home Water Safety CheckVERSION 1.0

Home Water Safety Check / Revisión de seguridad acuática

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Paper checklist / Lista en papel

Contact · Accessibility & contact · Paper checklist — English / Español

About this tool & its limits

This tool helps you plan water-safety steps for children. It cannot identify every hazard or predict a child’s chance of drowning. It is not medical or legal advice, a professional inspection, or a safety guarantee. Ask a qualified professional about your circumstances and local requirements. In an emergency, call 911.

Ratings help set action priorities. They are not a validated risk scale or proof that a home is safe. The AAP has not endorsed or validated this tool.

For foster/resource families, use this only as a supplement to your agency’s requirements. California Resource Family Approval information.

How topic ratings work

A “No” about access barriers, direct supervision, required life jackets, or unsafe water conditions is High concern. Other “No” answers call for improvement. A serious gap is never averaged away by other answers.

Unanswered and “Not sure” items stay unresolved. A topic with no known gap but an uncertain item is Not enough information. Only all-Yes topics show Reported protections in place. Topics with no selected questions are Not assessed. There is no overall safety score.

Question priorities
    Privacy & your answers

    This tool asks for no names, addresses, diagnoses, or free-text descriptions. Its own code keeps answers in page memory and does not send them to a server or AI service. Reloading or closing the page clears them. Print your plan if you want a copy; browser warnings about leaving are not available on every device.

    The website separately uses hosting, cookies, analytics, and third-party services. Hiding a chatbot or translation button does not stop all background services. Those services follow their own data practices. Avoid sharing a child’s personal or medical information through website contact tools.

    Website privacy policy
    Accessibility & contact

    Our design target is WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Use a keyboard, zoom, or the English/Español buttons. A paper checklist is available below. This is not a claim of certified conformance; browser-generated PDFs may work differently with assistive technology.

    For help, an accessible format, or feedback, email watersafeinfo@gmail.com.

    Describe what you were trying to do and your browser or device. Do not include child names, diagnoses, or home addresses. This email is not an emergency service.

    Paper checklist — English / Español

    Home water-safety checklist

    Educational planning aid, not an inspection, certification, or safety guarantee. No checklist replaces supervision. In an emergency, call 911.

    Date: __________ · Version 1.0

    1. Empty water containers; store buckets upside down.
    2. Keep a capable adult within arm’s reach during baths for young children or any child who needs help. Prevent access to toilets and filled tubs.
    3. Use a four-sided pool fence separating the pool from the house and yard: at least 4 feet high, hard to climb, with no gaps a child can pass through. Check local requirements.
    4. Keep pool gates closed; check that they close and latch on their own.
    5. Empty small wading pools after use. Pools kept filled need appropriate barriers.
    6. Check nearby water. Keep children out of canals, ditches, and stormwater basins.
    7. Name an attentive, capable adult to watch children around water. No distractions or impairment. Agree who takes over before that adult leaves.
    8. Keep infants, toddlers, and weak swimmers within arm’s reach of an adult who can swim. Discuss extra health or supervision needs with the child’s clinician.
    9. Use properly fitted US Coast Guard-approved life jackets on boats and in or around natural water. Young children and nonswimmers need them near pools or when swimming.
    10. Discuss swim lessons after the first birthday, based on readiness. Lessons do not replace barriers or supervision.
    11. Use designated lifeguarded swimming sites; check water and weather conditions. Children must wait for an adult before entering water. Older children need buddies and rules against alcohol, drugs, and breath-holding contests.
    12. Learn CPR with rescue breaths and safe rescue methods. Keep a phone and pool rescue equipment accessible. Know where to send emergency help.

    Use several layers of protection. This list does not assess every hazard, equipment condition, or local rule. For foster/resource families it supplements agency requirements.

    Sources: AAP 2026 policy and technical report; CDC drowning prevention. Full references below. Contact: watersafeinfo@gmail.com

    Lista de seguridad acuática en el hogar

    Ayuda para planificar, no una inspección, certificación ni garantía de seguridad. Ninguna lista sustituye la supervisión. En una emergencia, llame al 911.

    Fecha: __________ · Versión 1.0

    1. Vacíe los recipientes con agua; guarde las cubetas boca abajo.
    2. Mantenga a un adulto capaz al alcance de la mano durante el baño de niños pequeños o de quienes necesitan ayuda. Impida el acceso a inodoros y bañeras llenas.
    3. Use una cerca de cuatro lados que separe la piscina de la casa y del patio: al menos 4 pies de alto, difícil de trepar y sin huecos por los que pueda pasar un niño. Consulte los requisitos locales.
    4. Mantenga cerradas las puertas de la piscina; compruebe que se cierren y aseguren solas.
    5. Vacíe las piscinas infantiles pequeñas después de usarlas. Las que permanecen llenas necesitan barreras adecuadas.
    6. Revise el agua cercana. Mantenga a los niños fuera de canales, zanjas y cuencas de aguas pluviales.
    7. Asigne a un adulto atento y capaz para vigilar cerca del agua. Sin distracciones ni alteración de sus capacidades. Acuerden quién lo relevará antes de que se retire.
    8. Mantenga a bebés, niños pequeños y quienes no nadan bien al alcance de la mano de un adulto que sabe nadar. Consulte necesidades de salud o supervisión con el profesional de salud del niño.
    9. Use chalecos salvavidas de ajuste adecuado aprobados por la Guardia Costera de EE. UU. en embarcaciones y dentro o cerca de aguas naturales. Los niños pequeños y quienes no saben nadar los necesitan cerca de piscinas o al nadar.
    10. Converse sobre clases de natación después del primer cumpleaños, según la preparación del niño. Las clases no sustituyen las barreras ni la supervisión.
    11. Use áreas designadas con salvavidas; revise el agua y el tiempo. Los niños deben esperar a un adulto antes de entrar al agua. Los mayores necesitan compañeros y reglas contra el alcohol, las drogas y los concursos de aguantar la respiración.
    12. Aprenda RCP con respiraciones de rescate y métodos de rescate seguros. Mantenga accesibles un teléfono y equipo de rescate junto a la piscina. Sepa dónde enviar ayuda de emergencia.

    Use varias medidas de protección. Esta lista no evalúa todos los peligros, el estado del equipo ni todas las normas locales. Para familias de crianza temporal o de recursos, complementa los requisitos de la agencia.

    Fuentes: declaración de política e informe técnico de la AAP de 2026; prevención del ahogamiento de los CDC. Referencias completas a continuación. Contacto: watersafeinfo@gmail.com

    Evidence & references

    Updated November 9, 2026 · Version 1.0. Source page numbers refer to the supplied AAP PDFs. English and Spanish are supported.