Oklahoma City Lifeguard Shares Swimming Safety Reminders

As temperatures warm up and we transition into summer, more kids are cooling off at local pools but the CDC says drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death in children.

Drowning can happen anywhere, whether it's in a public place or the backyard.

Lifeguards are warning parents to remind themselves and keep learning ways to help children swim safely this summer.

A tip from a lifeguard at Lifetime Fitness Oklahoma City: if a child can’t swim 25 meters without assistance, an adult should be within 10 feet, with one adult for every three kids.

If a child does not know how to swim independently yet, Lifetime says to always use coast guard-approved lifejackets.

"We never want the kid to be all the way on their back or their stomach, and so they kind of allow the kid to be upright but still move around," lifeguard Jenna Kreymborg said.

Checking for Coast Guard-approved life jackets is simple. Look for the label, and it’ll say, but you should know that air-filled floaties are not Coast Guard-approved.