Disclosure: I participated in a Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for SwimWays. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

This Saturday, May 16, 2015, is the fourth annual National Learn to Swim Day.

It is a day dedicated to reminding parents to kick off summer safely by engaging their children in water safety and swim instruction.

It has already been getting close to 100 degrees here in Arizona (and it’s only May!) which means its pool time. Unfortunately, that also means an increase in pool drownings.

In lieu of National Swim Day this weekend, here are 14 tips to help prevent pool drownings this summer season.

1. 
   Teach your children at an early age to swim.
   
   You can find more information on swimming lessons at
   .
2. 
   Install a fence around the pool
   
   (and be sure to keep it locked and the key out of reach of little ones). A self closing, self latching door is best.
3. 
   Be sure no furniture is near the pool fence.
   
   Keep chairs and tables away from the fence to prevent climbing.
4. 
   Install alarms on doors that lead to the pool.
   
   INCLUDING doggie doors! It only takes a split second for a child to slip your line of view.
5. 
   Install motion alarms for the pool.
   
   They offer underwater motion alarms and pool alarms that alert you if the water is disturbed by an object or body falling into the pool.
6. 
   Never let children swim unattended.
   
   Make sure there is an adult that can swim within the pool area supervising.
7. 
   Learn CPR.
   
8. 
   Invest in a high quality pool cover.
   
   While pool drownings occur in the summer, they can also occur in the off months.
9. 
   Keep flotation devices in reach.
   
   If someone were to fall into the pool, having a life preserver handy could save their life.
10. 
    Beware of drains and suction
    
    – a child or their clothing, hair, etc. can get trapped.
11. 
    Wear a life jacket when necessary.
    
    Children must legally wear life vests/jackets on boats, but my kids wore life jackets in the pool until they felt comfortable enough to swim without them. While they were always supervised and they were home taught how to swim; they felt more comfortable wearing life jackets until they felt they could swim without them.
12. 
    Feet first!
    
    Whether it is the pool or a large body of water; always jump in feet first. You never know the true depth.
13. 
    Do not keep pool toys in the water
    
    – it’s tempting for the child to want their toy.
14. 
    Floaties, noodles, inflatable toys, etc. are not life jackets or adult supervision.
    

We spend a lot of time at the pool during the summer to stay cool in the triple digit heat.

Thanks to
, Baby Girl has a Baby Spring Float that allows her to hang out in the pool with us.

The
is the single best baby float on the market and helps introduce baby to the water.

Baby Girl has been in the pool before, but being only 2, it’s still a new experience for her every time.

She enjoyed sitting in the Baby Spring Float. The mesh surrounding her seat and the outer ring allowed her to still play with the water. She was covered from the sun with the sun shade (which had to be my favorite part because the Arizona sun is a killer) and she was still able to kick her feet.

The Baby Spring Float comes folded up in its own carrying bag. When we pulled it out, it came out in two pieces – the actual float where she sits and the sun shade. The best part is, after being in the pool, you can take it out, deflate it and fold it back up to fit back into the bag!

To use the float, there are two places you have to inflate – the inner tube where baby sits in (with netting hold her bottom) and the outer tube which supports the entire float.

It was difficult to inflate, but hubby seemed to have no issue (which is odd because if you ask, I’m the one with all the hot air!)

The Spring Baby Float is from SwimWays, who has been teaching children to swim for over 40 years, making it easy for parents to share their love of water while building their child’s confidence.

Baby Girl loved playing in the Spring Baby Float! She was blowing bubbles, splashing in the water, kicking her feet, and enjoyed being able to just hang out (and I loved that I didn’t have to hold her the whole time in the pool!)

I think before we start hitting the pool for good this summer, we will head over to
to stock up on some SwimWay products for the big kids to have too!