Pool Safety Tips for Parents
Following these simple safety rules can save lives in and around pools and water.
When heat waves dance on your patio and your children melt into puddles on the sofa, it’s the perfect time to go swimming. Few activities help kids beat the heat faster than a quick dip in a pool — not to mention it’s great exercise.
But before you let your kids take that first plunge, make sure they know how to swim. Once your child has mastered the basics, she can enjoy this family-friendly activity forever.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that each year nearly 300 children younger than five drown in swimming pools and more than 3,200 children that age go to hospital emergency rooms due to submersion injuries in pools.
The following tips from PoolSafety.gov can help to keep your children safe and ensure a safe and fun summer at the pool.
Rule #1: Stay Close, Be Alert and Watch Children in and Around the Pool
- Never take your eyes off children in the water— not for a minute! Drownings occur when there is a short lapse in adult supervision.
- Teach children basic water safety tips.
- Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments.
- Have a telephone close by when you or your family is using a pool.
- If a child is missing, look for her in the pool first.
Rule #2: Learn and Practice Water Safety Skills
- Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.
- Learn to perform CPR on children and adults, and update those skills regularly.
- Understand the basics of life-saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency.
Rule #3: Have Appropriate Equipment for Residential Pools
- Install a four-foot or taller fence around the pool and use self-closing and self-latching gates. If your house serves as a fourth side of a fence around a pool, install door alarms and always use them. For additional protection, install window guards on windows facing the pool.
- Install pool and gate alarms to alert you when children go near the water.
- Ensure any pool you use has compliant drain covers, and ask your pool service provider if you do not know. Maintain pool covers in good working order.
- Consider using a surface wave or underwater alarm.
Photo Credit: istockphoto.com
