Free Printable Customizable Water Watcher Tags

May is National Drowning Prevention Awareness month. Due to Covid-19 travel has significantly decreased, and public pools may be closed this summer in some states. However, there is still a vast risk of childhood drownings from private pools and natural bodies of water. In fact, with even more people staying home this summer and spending more time in their backyards or at close family members pools, one can say there is the potential for even higher risk!

Many organizations offer Water Watcher tags, which I wasn’t aware of just a few years ago before I had kids. Water Watcher tags are physical cards or badges that help to specifically designate who is watching a particular child or children in the water.

Many childhood drownings occur through an assumption that another adult was watching a particular child. Water Watcher tags make it clear who is responsible for watching children in the water. That person is not allowed to leave the premises, must remain close to the child/children, and be attentive at all times. Once their “shift” is complete, they can pass the tag along to someone else.

It helps clarify who is responsible. While you may assume that these are just for people who own pools, they actually come in handy for any type of water, including boats, and during family travel, if you’re going to be near a body of water.

While vacationing in Myrtle Beach just a couple of summers ago, my husband and I discussed our then 18-month-old so we could clearly designate who would be watching him while at the beach and in the resort pool. We had lots of family members around but agreed early on that one of us needed to be responsible for him at all times, and we verbalized this to each other, even when we were handing off. A Water Watcher tag would’ve been perfect for that particular vacation instead of all of the back and forth verbally.

Now that we have our own pool, I wanted to ensure we had Water Watcher tags for our children as well as any child swimming in our pool. Many organizations offer free Water Watcher tags that you can download, and some even provide you with physical ones for free, including their organizational promotion.

Since I knew we would have these for a while, I wanted something special and unique for our family. I had an independent designer at Upwork design these, and now I am sharing the downloadable template with all of you so that you can customize them and make your own as well!

Here is the downloadable template and three simple and very inexpensive ways to make your own Water Watcher tag:

Water Watcher Tag Free Editable Template

There are a few options for making these tags – here are some handy video instructions if you prefer. Otherwise, read on!

Option 1: Easiest, but least durable

Step 1. Download the Water Watcher tag template. You can edit the space to put your child’s name or your family’s last name.

Step 2: Print the page and cut out the individual tags. 

Step 3. Get a badge ID holder. If you don’t have one lying around the house, you can purchase one from any office supply store or order from Amazon. Here are the cheapest ones at Amazon I found for $3.99 for a 6 pack. 

Step 4. Insert the Water Watcher tag into the badge holder and add a spiral wristband keychain to the tag that you can slip onto your wrist. These can also be purchased at an office supply store, or from Amazon. Here are the cheapest ones I found at Amazon for $5.55 for a 6 pack. 

*I consider this the easiest way because you may already have all of these materials lying around at home. However, be aware that if the badge gets wet, the paper badge inside the badge holder will likely get wet, and the ink will run. That’s why, preferably, I would recommend option two or three for long term use, but if you just need something quick, this would be the best way.

Option 2: Cut and Laminated through a local print shop 

Step 1. Download the Water Watcher tag template. You can edit the space to put your child’s name or your family’s last name.

Step 2. Once you have edited the template, save the file on either a thumb drive or email it directly to your local office store. Ask them to print and cut the tags on cardstock and then laminate them. I got this done at Office Depot. I paid about $6 for one sheet. 

Step 3. Cut your laminated Water Watcher tags out as individual tags, then use a single hole punch to punch a hole in the corner. 

Step 4. Take a spiral wristband keychain (see purchase options in option 1 if you don’t already have one) and loop it through the hole. 

Option 3: Self Laminated at home

Step 1. Download the Water Watcher tag template. You can edit the space to put your child’s name or your family’s last name.

Step 2. Print the page and cut out the individual tags. 

Step 3. Get self-adhesive laminating paper and place the tags in between the paper. Follow the instructions on the package for sealing. You can purchase these at your local office supply store or order off Amazon. I recommend ordering off Amazon because they have more options for smaller pack sizes, and these aren’t cheap! The least expensive I found was for $3.67 for a 5 pack of 4×6 pouches, but the larger sheets can run upwards of $25. 

Step 4. Cut your laminated Water Watcher tags out as individual tags, then use a single hole punch to punch a hole in the corner. 

Step 5. Take a spiral wristband keychain (see purchase options in option 1 if you don’t already have one) and loop it through the hole.