How close do I need to stay to my kid at a splash pad?

Splash pads have very different supervision requirements than pools because drowning risk is mostly absent — the water is shallow or zero-depth — but injury and choking risks remain meaningful. Toddlers under 4 should be within arm's reach at all times, full stop. They slip on wet concrete, run into other kids, and inhale water on direct face spray faster than parents can intervene. Kids 4 to 6 can play more independently, but you should be within sprint distance (think 30 feet) and maintain frequent eye contact. Past 6, intermittent eye contact is enough, but you should still scan every 30 to 60 seconds because crowds shift fast and a kid can disappear into a cluster of others quickly. The biggest splash pad emergencies are slip-and-fall head injuries on concrete, choke responses to direct face-jet spray on small kids, and missed-child situations where a parent's eye drifted to a phone. Stay off the phone during active play and mentally treat the visit like driving — you can rest later.