My Child Can Swim. Do They Still Need Watching?

Yes, children who can swim still need someone watching them. CDC says children who have had swimming lessons still need close and constant supervision when in or around water (opens in a new tab). Swimming skill lowers risk, but deep water, breath-holding games, tiredness, cold water and currents can all overwhelm a good swimmer, and drowning is usually fast and silent.

What changes as your child grows is how you supervise, not whether you do.

Swimming ability is not the same as safety

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) puts it plainly: swim lessons don't make kids "drown proof." (opens in a new tab) The numbers show why:

• Many who drown can swim. Water Safety USA reports that almost half of 10- to 17-year-olds who drowned could swim (opens in a new tab), based on national child death review data for 2005-2014.
• A beginner badge isn't competence. Water Safety USA notes that children who finish entry-level lessons may still not have the basic skills and knowledge for water competency, and still need close and direct supervision (opens in a new tab).
• Older kids are often unsupervised. The AAP says even among older children and teens, most drownings happen when there is no adult supervision (opens in a new tab).

And trouble is hard to spot. CDC says drowning happens in seconds and is often silent (opens in a new tab). A retired Coast Guard rescue swimmer explains that people who are drowning are usually physiologically unable to call out for help (opens in a new tab), and can struggle at the surface for only 20 to 60 seconds before going under. Learn the signs in what drowning looks like.

Deep ends, swim tests and tired swimmers

Prove it before the deep end. Before your child swims in water over their head, check that they can do the American Red Cross's five water competency skills (opens in a new tab): enter water over their head and come back up, float or tread for a minute, turn around, swim 25 yards and get out. Ask pool staff whether they test swimmers before the deep end, and how.

Lifeguards are a layer, not a babysitter. Pool Safely says parents should still take responsibility for being the designated Water Watcher even if a lifeguard is present (opens in a new tab). A lifeguard watches many swimmers at once; you're watching yours. See public pool safety.

Energy runs out. Waves, wind and currents can quickly use up a swimmer's energy (opens in a new tab), the National Weather Service warns, and NOAA notes that swimmers who fight a rip current by swimming straight back to shore risk drowning because of fatigue (opens in a new tab). Build in rest breaks, and teach your child to float to rest.

Breath-holding games and blackout

A CDC report on New York State cases from 1988 to 2011 found 16 people harmed by "dangerous underwater breath-holding behaviors," four of whom died (opens in a new tab). The report named three behaviors:

1. Intentional hyperventilation: fast, deep breathing before going under, to stay down longer.
2. Static apnea: staying under and holding your breath as long as possible.
3. Hypoxic training: long underwater distance swims or extended breath-hold intervals.

In all four deaths, the swimmers were aged 17 to 22 and known to be advanced to expert swimmers (opens in a new tab). The report adds that drowning remains a risk even in facilities that have adequate lifeguards (opens in a new tab). In response, New York City changed its Health Code to require pools to post warning signs and to prohibit these behaviors unless they're explicitly allowed under enhanced supervision.

What to tell your child: no contests for the longest breath-hold or the longest underwater swim, and no fast "power breathing" before going under. If your child swims on a team, ask the coach how any breath-hold training is supervised.

Natural water changes everything

A child who's confident in the pool may be out of their depth, literally, at a lake or beach.

• It's where many school-age drownings happen. CDC says over 40% of drownings among children 5 to 14 occur in natural water (opens in a new tab).
• Hidden hazards. CDC lists dangerous currents or waves, rocks or vegetation, and limited visibility (opens in a new tab).
• Cold water. The National Center for Cold Water Safety says that while gasping from cold shock, swimming as short a distance as 6 to 10 feet is often impossible, even for good swimmers (opens in a new tab).
• Life jackets still apply. CDC says life jackets should be used by children for all activities while in and around natural water (opens in a new tab), whatever their skill.

Before a lake or beach trip, read why lakes are not pools and rip currents: how to spot and escape them.

Supervision that grows with your child

At parties, the AAP suggests passing a water watcher card to the next responsible adult every 15-20 minutes (opens in a new tab), so the job never falls between people.

For the how-to on watching younger children, see how to supervise kids around water.

Rules older kids agree to

Older children may push back on rules that feel babyish. Ask them to help write the rules, and explain the reason for each one. A good starting list:

• I show my five skills before I swim in deep water.
• I never swim alone, and I tell an adult before I get in.
• No breath-holding contests and no power breathing.
• Feet first into any water I don't know.
• Life jacket at the lake, the river and on boats.
• I swim where the lifeguard or my watcher can see me.
• If someone's in trouble, I shout, call 911, and reach or throw. I don't go in.

Sign the list together with the Family Water Safety Pledge. For research on what lessons can and can't do, see do swim lessons prevent drowning?

What you can do today

1. Check deep-water skills at your next pool visit, with you close by.
2. Have the breath-holding talk tonight. It takes two minutes.
3. Agree on a Water Watcher plan for your next party or beach day.
4. Pack life jackets for any lake, river or boat trip, even for strong swimmers.
5. Write the family rules with your older child and sign them.