Designate a Water Watcher
Responding to a text, answering an email, listening to a podcast, or making a grocery list—these tasks may seem quick and harmless, but those few seconds of distraction can add up. And distractions around water can lead to serious, even fatal, consequences. In fact, 88% of children drown with at least one adult present.
That’s why families must designate a Water Watcher—an adult who stays focused and free from distractions like phones, conversations, or alcohol who can maintain constant visual contact with all children in or near the water. Your feed can wait. Their safety can’t.
Watch the official public service announcement for the Phones Down, Eyes Up water safety campaign, brought to you by YMCA of the USA.
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What You Can Do
- Take the pledge below to power down and put your phones away when watching children near or around water. When you take the pledge, you can download a free lockscreen for your phone as a visual reminder. Also, the first 1,000 people to take the pledge will receive a free Water Watcher lanyard!
- Assign Water Watchers for short periods of time (15-20 minutes) when in large groups.
- Download a Water Watcher badge (English | Spanish) to print at home. After a short time, the Water Watcher badge is passed to another adult who is alert and responsible for actively supervising children in or near water. The badge not only helps you remember the very important task of watching children in or near water, but it also clearly identifies you as someone who can help if needed.
- Share the pledge on social media and remind family and friends that their eyes can save lives.
