Pool Safety Tips for
Your Family This Summer
I think we can all agree that children in the pool make us a little nervous and that is okay. Children in a large body of water should keep family members on high alert at all times; however, just because you’re there at the pool with your youngsters doesn’t mean you can watch them without blinking, we’re all human and things can happen in just one second. There are many tips and tricks new parents and parents of children who simply weren’t born loving the water can learn. Below we will discuss several strategies and tips for residential and community pool safety.
In the United States alone, around 800 children a year lose their lives to pool-related injuries. There is no need to leave any room for error, even if you can win a starring competition. Even children who are fantastic swimmers should never be trusted to their own devices.
Follow these tips in any large body of water:
- Watch children. Even if they can swim and you would swear, they had gills, watch them. A child is still a child and they will over-estimate their abilities.
- Teach children how to swim, even at a young age. Get them comfortable with water and show them how to float.
- Make sure your child/children are always at arm’s length.
- It is crucial that you know what to do in case of an emergency.
- Have pool safety rules that are strictly enforced. Children forget important guidelines when they’re having fun, so be aware, and make certain that your safety rules are enforced.
- Teach your children to always seek an adult in case of another child in distress.
- Use flotation devices until the children are old enough to reach the floor of the pool without standing on their tiptoes.
Once you have gone through guidelines, rules, and the no exceptions with your children there are ways that you can make your actual pool a much safer place for them. Take these easy steps to make your pool safe for your children!
- Build a pool fence: form a barrier and keep kids out. Unless you are in the pool area there is no need for them to be anywhere near the pool. It is highly suggested that pool fences open outward, self-close, and self-latch. There is not a federal law enforcing a pool fence but with a rise in pool-related deaths, individual states have taken it upon themselves to enact state laws related to pool fence safety.
- Alarms: this may be overkill if you have older children who are very capable of taking care of themselves, but for families who aren’t so comfortable in water it is advised to add an extra layer of protection on top of the fence, an alarm. An alarm that alerts the parents when someone has entered the pool can stop mistakes and tragedies from occurring.
- Diving Boards are a no: if you have small children, they don’t need a diving board.
- Pool Chemicals: for curious youngsters, pool chemicals can be very interesting, and very dangerous. Keep chemicals properly stored away from where your children play.
- Drain Covers: there have been reports of young children losing their lives to uncovered drains. It is important to keep pool drains covered and to properly check them.
- Pool Covers: when no one is using the pool or the weather is no longer conducive to pool water, cover up your pool.
- CPR: parents with young children should learn CPR in case their precautions fail.