A Quick Guide To Pool Safety
Owning a swimming pool at home brings a lot of enjoyment but also means an important risk for young children. Accidents are not just a fatality but could and should be prevented by taking appropriate measures and keeping children supervised. Many communities are addressing the risks posed by swimming pools. The installation of safety measures is fast becoming Standard Practice in many Countries, because of the liability that an unfenced dangerous area implies. No one would want to ride an elevator without doors yet many parents accept that their small children play around unfenced pools that are a real and foreseeable risk.
We would like to share with you some information and statistics about swimming pools risks and how to address them.
Swimming Pool Safety tips
Children under the age of 5 are the most prone to drowning and near drowning in swimming pools. Just a small lapse in supervision can be deadly, 76% of accidents happen to children who were supposed to be under the supervision of an adult at the time of the accident.
- If you don´t find your child, search FIRST in the swimming pool, in pool accidents few seconds can mean the difference between a bad experience and a tragedy.
- Make sure that your child cannot access the pool area unsupervised.
- When at the swimming pool, your child should at all times be under the supervision of an adult that can swim.
- Teach your child how to swim as early as possible, that will help him or her understand the risks and will improve his or her chances in case of an accident.
- Learn Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for it can dramatically change the consequences of an accident.
- Several adults can rotate on the supervisor role, but it should always be very clear who is the one in charge at any particular time, when everybody watches, nobody watches
- If the phone or the door bell rings and you cannot answer it AT the pool side, let it ring or take the children out of the fenced area, but don´t go in the house leaving the children unsupervised
- Do not leave any toys or objects that children may want to retrieve within the swimming pool enclosure, for this will motivate them to try to gain access
- Always keep the water clean so you can see the bottom of the pool all year around.
- Install a safety pool fence that cannot be opened or climbed over by small children. Doors should swing OUT from the pool and should be self closing and latching, minimum height between elements that can provide a foot hold, 1 meter, maximum gap between elements 10 cm.
