News And Events

Safety Around Water

Nurtured at Home has a Water Safety Policy to keep children safe in care.  Over the summer holidays, here’s some important information for families and whānau from www. watersafety.org.nz about keeping your children safe around water.

Pre-schooler drownings typically occur when a child is allowed out of sight and reach of a caregiver; in the bath, paddling pool, or bucket – or larger bodies of water such as in a beach, lake or river. 

Keep under-fives within arm’s reach at all times. 

It only takes sixty seconds and around five centimetres of water for a child to drown.

Safety Tips:

• Always empty and store paddling pools and water containers after use and ensure you have a safely fenced play area.
• Identify water hazards in and around your home and ensure your children can’t reach them.
• If you're in a group of people, ensure you have an active supervision roster so you know who is watching the children at all times.
• Make sure older children don’t have to take responsibility for younger children.
• Teach your children water safety behaviour from as soon as they are old enough to understand, things like: ‘Never go near the water unless you’re with a grown up’.

To learn more about how to keep your children safe while in or around the water, visit www.watersafety.org.nz