DENVER, Colo. -- Beaches, lakes, rivers and swimming pools are a big part of most families' summer activities.

Tragically, every year children die or are hurt in accidents in or around the water.

Home safety expert Louie Delaware said watching children carefully near the water is the single, best way to protect them.

"Don't let your child have access to a pool without appropriate adult supervision. They have a natural attraction to water. They'll perhaps lean over and fall in the pool and they won't come up to the surface," said Delaware.

Creating a barrier between your child and the water, according to Delaware, is the next, most important thing you can do.

He said a pool fence with panels made of mesh is one of the safest choices for either a public or a private pool.

"They're child resistant and it's very difficult for a child to climb over the top of these," he said.

Delaware also said some pool fences come with a gate that automatically shuts and locks itself.

Injury prevention specialist Leslie Feureborn, with Safe Kids Denver, said it takes just two minutes for a child lose consciousness in the water and less than six minutes for death to occur.

"Most drownings for kids between the ages of one and four are at home pools; your pool, your neighbors pool," she said.

Even worse, Feurerborn said, an adult nearby may not even know it is happening.

"For kids, drowning occurs very quietly and very quickly. They swallow water, they go underneath, they are just not strong enough. They sink to the bottom," she said.

Delaware cautions that floatation devices are no substitute for supervision.

He said using them is a dangerous habit because, "It's a false sense of security."

Delaware said inflatable floatation bands, often called "floaties," worn on the arms are among the worst things parents can put on their children.

"They may actually slide off their arms. Even though they're a relatively inexpensive alternative, don't use them," he said.

Other potential hazards Delaware points out to homeowners are pool and hot tub drains that are missing or have a flat surface.

He said, "A child swims over the top of this and possibly gets sucked down on this without you knowing it. They're held tight to the bottom of this drain."

Delaware suggests replacing them with dome-shaped covers or drain covers with the vents around the sides that minimize the entrapment risk.

"The suction can create abut 500 pounds of pull force to keep that child submerged underwater. For that matter, even an adult," he said.

Around other bodies of open water, like rivers, lakes and swim beaches, Delaware said a life vest is essential equipment for every child and adult.

In particular, he said the vest must fit properly for the age and weight and have a strap that goes underneath the crotch to keep the child upright in the water.

Long hair is also a safety risk near hot tub drains, Delaware said, because it can become entangled and the only way to get the person out of the water is to cut their hair off.

Above ground pools also pose a danger.

Delaware said children can easily climb ladders and disappear in elevated pools.

Toddlers, he said, can tip over and drown in less than two inches of water.

He encourages people to drain pools with they are not in use and turn them over to prevent water from unintentionally pooling inside them, creating a possible hazard.

For more information about water safety, go to homesafetyguru .