Inside or outside, watching a child requires active supervision. Just what exactly is active supervision? Well during today’s blog post, we’ll go over the answer to this specific question. 

Understanding Active Supervision

Properly watching kids play requires much more than being present. In fact, active supervision takes dedication and diligence. Did you know that in 60% of child drowning incidents, the child was being "supervised" by one or more adults, but was not expected to be near the water?

For this reason, it is critical that children are watched correctly, even when it isn’t pool time. 

What are the Best Practices For Watching a Child? 

Active supervision doesn’t only help to prevent drowning danger. It works in all types of potentially dangerous situations. If you’re hosting a play date or visiting the park, it still pays to keep a close eye on kids in your care. Remember: drowning can occur in as little as two inches of water. So a nearby pond, for instance, is just as much of a drowning threat as a pool.

Remove Distractions

Above all, an active supervisor should be fully dedicated. No matter how much you may want to socialize with other parents or check Facebook, watching the children should be your only focus. 

To this end, leave the distractions at home. This means eliminating obvious attention-grabbing activities like phones, books or drinks. Instead, dedicate your time to watching the children until it’s time to switch with another adult.

Don’t Lose Sight of Children

To this end, be sure to maintain visual contact with the children at all times. Drowning or accidents can happen far faster than most of us realize. Speaking of drowning, it rarely happens the way we are shown in movies. Drowning is quick and often totally silent. There usually isn’t any wild thrashing or screaming. Instead, the victim often struggles to stay afloat, but ultimately quietly slips underneath the water.  To prevent this, don’t let them out of your sight.

For younger kids, don’t let them get into water unless you’re willing to get in there with them. A guardian needs to stay within arm’s reach at all times. This way, if there’s a problem, you’ll be able to quickly spring into action. Besides, it’s much harder to be distracted if you’re actually in the water with them.

For older kids, you may be able to give them a bit of slack… but that doesn’t mean to slack off! Keep a close eye on them at all times. Growing up means more responsibility, but don’t relay on them to have the same sense of what is safe or appropriate that you have. It’s the sacred duty of the watcher to keep those kids safe. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted. 

Paying Attention Helps to Save Lives

In the end, active supervision is not really that difficult. It really just requires a close eye and a lack of distraction. It's just one of the positive parenting tips offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a terrific way to limit the possibility of danger for little ones. Accidents can always happen, but the danger is severely lessened when a responsible guardian is close at hand. 

A caring active supervisor can help to keep kids out of harm’s way. In the end, that’s all any concerned adult really wants.