Use This Airline Safety Tip at the Pool

Kids’ water safety is paramount all year round, but especially during the summer when families will be spending a lot more recreation time in swimming pools and various bodies of water.

Susie Allison at Busy Toddler has shared an amazing (an incredibly easy) water safety tip that airline pilots use for cockpit safety, and guess what? This safety measure adapts surprisingly well for kids in any environment, but is especially handy around water. Allison’s husband is a former airline pilot, and the couple started this system “almost the day our first came home from the hospital.”

Shared in a Reel on her Instagram page, Allison writes, “My husband and I have been using a cockpit safety measure for our whole span of parenting AND IT WORKS WONDERS. It keeps the kids safe, makes sure supervision is specified, and helps us never just assume the other adult is watching out.”

“When airline pilots need to make a change of controls in the cockpit, the pilot currently flying says: ‘Your airplane.’ This signals a change of controls is coming. The other pilot must respond back with ‘My airplane,’ acknowledging that they are now flying the aircraft.

Allison continues, “When one of us needs to make a change in supervision or go do something different or help someone else, we announce it and make a verbal change: ‘Your Kate & Matt.’ And we wait for the other to respond ‘My Kate & Matt.’ This is the verbal and acknowledged shift of supervision duties for those two kids from one parent to the other. THIS SYSTEM WORKS.”

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And when it comes to assumptions, well, those don’t come in to play. Allison writes, “We never assume the other is watching. We never assume they noticed we walked away. We never assume the kids are being supervised.”
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By stating clearly “Your” and the names of your children, then waiting for confirmation, you will know that your partner has taken over keeping an eye on the kids, which is especially important around water.

“Your kids.”
“My kids.”

We hope this helps, mama. Have a safe (and fun!) summer!