This is just wrong, cities across the United States are experiencing record drownings this summer, despite efforts to raise awareness about water safety and the importance of life-saving swimming lessons. We should know better, the safety tips are simple, and our possibilities to spread them are better than ever. Read what Cullen Jones has to say about the issue, visit www.makeasplash.org, and follow these five rules:

1. Teach children to swim. Research shows that parents are the most influential factors in whether or not a child learns to swim. Only 13 percent of children from non-swimming households will ever learn to swim, according to the University of Memphis.
2. Make sure a responsible adult is watching the water at all times. Drowning can be completely silent, and typically, when a child drowns, the parent or caregiver has been away from the child for less than five minutes, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
3. Remind kids to always obey the rules of the pool, not to jump on or dunk other swimmers and not to jump or dive unless they know how deep the water is.
4. Require kids to always swim with a buddy.
5. Remember, you don’t have to be at a pool to drown. Lakes, rivers, large puddles and any other bodies of water also require caution. Make sure your child knows how to swim, whether or not they’ll be around a pool this summer.

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