Learn How to Be a Water Safety Superhero

Safe Kids Florida Suncoast and Pinellas Preventable Child Death partners created a water safety video, by kids for kids that teaches important rules to stay safe around all bodies of water. The video and related curriculum, based off of American Red Cross water safety standards, launched to 43,000+ Pinellas County elementary students as part of National Water Safety Month in May 2021.
Community organizations involved in the effort include the City of St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Juvenile Welfare Board, and St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.
Last year during the pandemic, Pinellas County saw a spike in submersion-related emergency rescues resulting in death or other serious injury of children under age 18. Constant adult supervision, inside and outside the home, is the number one preventive measure. In addition, there are a host of water safety rules children should follow whenever they are near a body of water.
According to the Florida Department of Health’s Florida CHARTS (2017-2019), Florida ranked highest in the U.S. for unintentional drowning death rates among children ages one to four (6.29 per 100,000) and highest among children ages birth to nine (3.28 per 100,000). Sadly, on average each year, there are enough children under age five lost to drowning to fill four preschool classrooms.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to watch the video with their children. For more life-saving water safety tips and a list of swim lesson sites, visit: HopkinsAllChildrens.org/WaterSafety
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