Now that you know you’ll be taking the family to water parks soon, you can turn your attention to learning what’s required to ensure a fun, safe adventure in the hot summer sun.

You need to know the swimming ability of those in your group, the rules of the water park’s attractions, who is watching and who is not, as well as how to protect yourself from dehydration, heat stroke and similar dangers.

“One thing that I always think about with this is heat stroke,” says Mike Schiltz, aquatics supervisor for the Batavia Park District. “Apply your sunscreen and take breaks. We recommend one every hour or so. Drink plenty of water and continue hydrating. Heat stroke can creep up on you, especially older and younger. It can create a real first aid scenario which can be prevented by doing things before coming in. Did you have breakfast? Have you drank plenty of water throughout your visit? And knowing the warning signs when you do struggle with heat-related illness is something to learn. Heat stroke can happen anywhere. You can be sitting in the stands in the sun at a baseball game.”

Children under 48 inches, non-swimmers and weak swimmers should wear a Coast Guard-approved life vest while visiting water parks according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

Viktoria Anderson-Orosz, aquatics general manager for the Fox Valley Park District, suggests taking a photo of your group before enjoying the water park’s various attractions.

“One thing that many families do right before going in is to take a picture of their children,” Anderson-Orosz says. “If for some reason they get lost, sometimes it’s hard to give a description and remember exactly what swimsuit they’re wearing and this makes it easier to reunite them.”

But even before that, Anderson-Orosz suggests familiarizing yourself with the water park.

“When families go to a water park, they should make sure they know the attractions that water park has and if it is appropriate for the different ages,” she says. “Most water park rules are on the website. It helps a family prepare for what they want to do for the day.”

Katie Miller, assistant superintendent of recreation for the St. Charles Park District, says a swim safe pledge is a great way to safely start any discussion concerning water safety.

“We say to stay within an arm’s length of children who cannot swim and we promote what we call the swim safe pledge to kids,” she says. “We recommend they take swim lessons, read the rules, know the water depth, swim with a buddy and always swim with a lifeguard or an adult nearby.”

You cannot simply rely solely on lifeguards, you have to do your part as well.

“If you have little kids, make sure they know if there’s a deep end, it wouldn’t be appropriate,” she says. “And while these water parks have lifeguards who enforce rules and respond to emergencies, you still have to supervise your children. You want to make the whole experience as fun and safe as possible.”