Lauren's List: Summer Swim Safety Tips

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Swim safety is top of mind in the summer months.

While we usually preach about pool gates and supervision, there are some extra safety measures you can take to make sure your kids are well equipped when in the water, even if they already are proficient swimmers.

Drowning investigator Natalie Livingston wrote a post on Facebook that's now gone viral.

Today's "Lauren's List" breaks down 4 of the 10 tips she shared that you may not have thought of before.

Safety Briefings
Livingston says she holds a briefing about water safety with her kids every time they go swimming. The best time to do this is usually when applying sunscreen. She says this is the time to tell them where they can swim, if they can jump in, and point out any possible dangers. She says no kids are allowed in the water without her first giving explicit permission.

Depth vs. Height
Many pool decks show just how deep the water is in certain spots. Livingston says it's important for your kids to know just how tall they are compared to that depth. Teach your children to read those depth markers and learn where their height would leave them. While older kids are allowed in deeper depths, her younger child knows just how far she can go before the water goes above her airways.

How To Get Away
Perhaps your child is a great swimmer, but someone who can't swim well ends up nearby and starts struggling. They might latch on to your child and then they both start drowning. Livingston teaches the "Suck, Duck and Tuck" technique. Teach your kids to suck in air, duck under water and then tuck your legs in and use them to push away. And then, once that person is out of the water, they need to yell for help for the other struggling swimmer.

Water Breaks
Finally, kids could spend hours in the pool and never get tired. But these breaks are for the adult in charge. Lifeguards only monitor in 20 to 30 minute rotations, so it makes sense parents watching their kids swim should take breaks to make sure they stay sharp and focused. That means, everyone out of the water until the designated supervisor is ready to begin watching with no distractions once again.

Do you have any other pool safety tips?

Tell me on Facebook or Twitter.

To read Livingston's full list of tips, see her post on Aquatics Tribe's Facebook page.

If you have an idea for a future "Lauren's List", send it to lpastrana@cbs.com.