Why YSK : Whilst this might be common knowledge to people who live in the colder climates I've lived in Florida my entire life and in consideration that Christmas is tomorrow and some people might have gone north to spend time with family in colder climates and might explore the "cool" frozen lake there are a few things to do to avoid falling in

Firstly You shouldn't ever walk on a frozen lake unless you're ice fishing or something in alaska so common sense should tell you that it'd be a terrible idea to go on the frozen lake but just in case you do an the ice begins to crack

1. Don't move suddenly, and begin by lying on your stomach and spreading your arms and legs like an airplane(You do this to spread out your mass so you don't fall through a human width hole)

2. Stretch your arms over your head and bring them together (like doing a pencil dive or turning yourself into a line)

3. Once you're in the position begin rolling away from the crack obviously go to the land that's closer

NOW IF YOU DO FALL IN

1. DO NOT REMOVE YOUR WINTER CLOTHES(They don't weigh you down in fact they actually make you into a sort of flotation device and the trapped air will help provide warmth

2. Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface of ice then get as far away from the hole as you can by doing the above mentioned technique

It is also advised to carry an ice pick with you for safety and such now hopefully if something like this happens to anyone at least they could potentially recall what I said here to help them and as a side note just stay calm don't freak out sudden movements and the likes can and will cause more ice to break off

Redditor u/LifeGainsss added an additionally useful tip to this post saying that when you climb back up after falling into the body of water roll the way you came from as they said "if it held you on the way there it'll likely hold on the way back"

Redditor u/katiespecies647 added the point saying that you SHOULD NOT let your pets go onto the frozen lake I imagine that some people believe that because their pets are lighter that it's safe but there's no guarantee you never know where the ice could be thinner or more vulnerable so keep any and all pets away from a frozen lake

Redditor u/wandering-mind Added additional information that after you manage to get back onto proper land to take off all your clothes this is due to the fact that wet clothes tend to be colder then dry clothes and to if you can, NEVER go onto a frozen body of water alone always bring a friend with you

Source: https://www.hardwaterkiter.com/ice-safety-information.html

This link shows basic information in regards to frozen bodies of water what's safe vs. what isn't additionally it shows the weight capacity of ice depending upon the thickness and like, Additionally keep in mind that there's no guarantee certain ice has different properties and chemical makeup some ice is sturdier some ice is more fragile etc. in my opinion unless absolutely necessary try not to go onto any frozen body of water