Pool Safety for Children

Pool Safety for Children

POOL SAFETY

second leading cause of injury-related death in children age 1-14.

A swimming pool at a home is a very enjoyable health, recreation, and fitness feature for the children of the family. It does require responsible use and parental supervision without which it can be a very dangerous place for children.

If possible, before you install a pool, educate yourself on pool and spa safety including enrolling non-swimming family members in an appropriate learn-to-swim program which includes water safety education. If you already have a pool, protect your children from drowning by doing the following:

Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment. Keep them within arms' reach at all times.
You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools exit the house and enter the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children's reach.
A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) adds to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drowning.
Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd's hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.
When using use air-filled "swimming aids" remember they are not a substitute for knowing how to swim or wearing an approved life vest. Stay within an arm's length of your child.
Diving head-first into a back yard pool is never recommended for children or adults since depths & pool shell shape do not safely accommodate diving entry and skill and judgment of the diver can be uncertain particularly with children and adults over two years of age. Head, neck, spinal and other serious injuries can occur. It has been suggested that a person should only consider diving into clear and known water that is at least twice his or her height in depth. Few if any backyard pools meet this suggested standard. Backyard swimming pools are not diving pools.
Anyone caring for young children around a pool should learn CPR and be able to rescue a child if needed. Train all caregivers or forbid pool use in your absence.
Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren't tempted to return to the pool or pool area for them. Be sure that now tables or chairs are placed near a barrier fence such that a child could use it to climb over and re-enter the pool area or pool.
After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can not return to it. Double check that all barriers and alarms are actively protecting your children.

Remember, layers of protection to include: teaching your child how to swim, barriers, alarms, pool covers, CPR, diligent maintenance of barriers to pool / water along with always-within-arms-reach parental supervision when a child is in or near water .... are all equal parts and necessary in of keeping your child(ren) safe around water.

And also remember: NOT arranging for your child(ren) to learn how to swim means that they will not know how to swim and thereby be less safe around water until s/he or they do learn.

Two and three year olds can swim joyfully, skillfully, and purposefully if nurtured in a ongoing sensible aquatic program. The skills and judgment do not come immediately especially for the younger child so enrollment and participation weekly is recommended to steadily acquire and maintain those skills and judgment. All layers of protection are equal and necessary.

Since lapses in adult caregiver attention can and do occur apply layers of protection essential to backyard pool safety