What follows are the top five safety rules to know around swimming pools.

5 Maintain good health and hygiene.

Good hygiene in the swimming pool helps to prevent E-coli outbreaks or other contaminants from getting into the water. That is why it is good to wash hands or rinse off before entering the pool. Drinking alcohol should also be avoided before entering a swimming pool or supervising children. Being intoxicated could cause an accident in the water, and it dulls the senses if watching small children.

4 No running or pushing.

These are two of the first rules any child learns before they enter the water. Surfaces around a swimming pool are often wet. Running increases the chance of slipping on one of these wet surfaces and falling onto the concrete or into the pool. Pushing someone, friend or not, is also a good way to get hurt or drown in a swimming pool.

3 Supervision.

Children should always have parental or adult supervision while in the swimming pool, whether a lifeguard is there or not. Children should also not stray too far from an adult in case they get into trouble. This also includes children who have had swimming lessons in the past. One of the greatest factors that influences drowning, according to the CDC, is the lack of supervision, either in the swimming pool or bathtub. Barriers, such as pool fencing, are also a good idea to prevent access to a residential pool.

2 Learn how to swim.

Going swimming does not necessarily mean “swimming” to some people. That is why it is important to learn basic life-saving techniques such as floating or the freestyle stroke to be safe in the water. According to the CDC, children ages 1 to 4 are at greatest risk for drowning. Rates are also higher in minority populations.

“What we are looking for is for children to be safe both in and out of the water,” said Katie Woolf, executive director of the YMCA in Blue Springs. “We want children to know how to get in and out of the water safely and to be able to save themselves if they should get into trouble. That is why learning how to swim is so important.”

1 Do not swim alone.

One of the biggest ways to stay safe at a swimming pool is to always swim with a partner or group. If there is a problem, Woolf said, there is someone else there to help.

“Never, never, never swim alone. That is one of the biggest things we teach children,” she said. “It is so important that there is someone there when you get into the water. If you are alone, there is no one to help in case you need it.”