Helping toddlers and pre-school children to stay safe

It's never too early to start talking to your children about staying safe near water. It’s as important as road and fire safety. 

For young children, our message is deliberately clear and simple to help them understand it – hold hands, take two steps back.  Repeat this message whenever you’re by the water and it will help your children remember how to stay safe.

Remember to:

• Always hold a child's hand when by the water.
• Make sure the brake is on a pram or pushchair when stationary.
• Look out for other people on busy towpaths before stepping back.
• Talk about staying safe when you're out and about near water.
• Repeat safety messages regularly to help young children remember what to do.

Learning to stay safe by water

We’re got tools to help adults (parents and carers) talk to their children about water safety – a song, our storybook ‘Quack, Quack, take two steps back!’, and learning activities.

• Read the story in Welsh

The water safety song

Watch Maddie Moate sing a song to help children learn to take two steps back from the edge.

• View this video with Welsh subtitles

What to do if a child falls into the water

• There may be other people around, so shout for help as loudly as you can.
• If you have other children with you, make sure they are safe.
• Dial 999 and ask for the Fire & Rescue Service. Explain your location clearly - use road names, bridge numbers, what3words and describe any landmarks.
• Lie down on the ground and try to reach them in the water. Use a tree branch, stick or an item of clothing to reach out to them. Don't get in the water yourself. If they have fallen in, it's likely that they won't be too far away from the edge.
• If you can, haul them out of the water. Do this by lying down on the ground and pulling them out by grabbing their clothes. Don't pull them out from a standing position as you are more likely to fall in the water yourself.
• If you can't get them out, lie on the ground and hold on to them until help arrives.