Child pool safety is a major concern of any homeowner with a swimming pool, whether or not they have children of their own. Friends and family with kids can stop by at any time, along with curious neighbor children looking for a place to cool off in the summer. Protect yourself and your kids with these four child pool safety tips.
1. Never leave a child unsupervised near the pool for any length of time. Even looking away for a minute to answer a phone call may be enough time for a child to wander into an unattended swimming pool. Small children can drown in only a few inches of water, so even staying near the pool’s steps can be dangerous. Always take your children with you when leaving the pool area and make sure the gate is locked as you exit. Designate one adult to watch all of the kids during parties and family gatherings. Accidents are more likely at social events like these because everyone is distracted and assumes someone else is watching the kids.
2. Install secure fences and gates around the entire pool area. The easiest way to ensure child pool safety is just to prevent access to the pool without adult supervision. A tall fence with locking gates can accomplish this even when you are not around. Keep all tables, chairs, ladders, or other large objects a safe distance from your pool fence. A child may use the obstacles to climb over the fence and access the pool. If you have an indoor spa or hot tub room, keep the door locked at all times. Door alarms can be installed to alert you when someone has entered the pool or hot tub area. This may be a bit more expensive, but you can never be too careful when it comes to child pool safety.
3. Remember that inflatable pool toys and water wings are not sufficient to prevent drowning. Do not leave children who cannot swim unattended in inner tubes or similar pool toys. Only child pool safety flotation devices such as life jackets and life preservers are designed to support a person and prevent drowning. Do not leave toys laying around in the pool when it is not in use as this may tempt children to jump in when their parents are not looking.
4. Create a set of poolside rules and regulations and make sure all of your children understand them. Also, emphasize that the rules apply to any of their friends who are using the pool. Child pool safety is important no matter whose child is at stake. Some good rules to implement include no diving, no fighting, no dunking or no pushing. Of course, you want the kids to be free to rough-house a bit and have fun, but you want to limit the excessive and unexpected shoving that can lead to accidents. Always keep a list of emergency phone numbers and a working telephone within easy reach of the pool. If a drowning does occur, time wasted trying to find a phone may be the difference between a full recovery and permanent brain damage.
