Summer provides favourable conditions for enjoying time in the swimming pool with friends and family. It is vital to implement pool safety tips to reduce the possibility of accidents.
Children are the most vulnerable to potential pool hazards. Your swimming area should have the necessary features to improve its safety, both inside and outside the water. Experts recommend many strategies, ranging from installing fences to teaching your kids how to swim. By implementing this advice, you ensure that both youngsters and grown-ups are safe in and around the water.
The following are the pool safety tips that you need to observe this summer.
Fence the Pool Area
The first safety measure that you need to apply is fencing your swimming pool. A fence ensures that nobody sneaks into the pool area without your permission, especially children. This, in turn, reduces the chances of accidents occurring due to a lack of supervision.
Ideally, the fence should be at least four feet in height to deter children from climbing over it. The water should only be accessible through a self-latching gate.
Be Observant
If you take your children for a swimming session, keep a close eye on them until you leave. Most accidents occur when kids are left on their own without an adult to guide them. If many grown-ups are present, instruct them to watch over the children for a specified period and then rotate. This is a smart way of avoiding concentration lapses that tend to occur if one person watches over a large group of kids for an extensive period.
Even in the presence of a lifeguard, you should still keep watch over your children when swimming. This especially applies to public pools, where the lifeguard can get overwhelmed by the vast number of swimmers.
Learn How to Perform CPR
Learning CPR can help save a life in case somebody drowns. Once you become an expert, ensure that you renew your certification regularly. You can get CPR classes at local community centres, hospitals, and the Red Cross.
Teach Basic Water Safety Tips
Another way of making your pool safer this summer is by teaching essential water safety tips, especially to the older children. For instance, you can train your older kids on how to conduct first aid in case the younger ones drown. You could also teach them what to do if someone swallows a lot of water.
It would help if you also enrol your kids for swimming lessons. When your youngsters are proficient swimmers, they become less likely to drown or injure themselves while in the pool.
Keep Off Openings
Pools typically have several openings, such as drains and pipes. While these features are useful, they are known to cause entrapments. Ducts can trap your kid’s hair, clothing, jewellery, and so forth. Make sure that you avoid them when swimming.
Use Appropriate Floatation Devices
Some parents make the mistake of relying on fun toys such as noodles and water wings to keep their kids afloat in the swimming pool. Although these work to an extent, they are not entirely safe. If your child cannot swim, you should invest in a personal floatation device. Even better, it would be best if you kept them off the deep end until they learn the skill.
Place Safety Kits by the Pool
It is advisable to have safety kits standby to enable you to deal with any emergencies. You do not want a situation where you have to wait for an ambulance while a person is suffering. A basic swimming pool first aid kit should contain scissors, clothing, floaters, a pool cover, and a portable telephone.
Use Pool Covers
Besides fencing, another way of preventing unauthorized access to your pool is by installing a cover. The cover should be lockable such that your kids cannot remove it while you are away. If the lock uses keys, make sure that they are out of your children’s reach. A better alternative would be to purchase a cover fitted with advanced locks that use passwords and have an alarm.
Invest in Compliant Drain Covers
As mentioned earlier, pool drains are known to cause entrapments. Powerful suction from a swimming pool can trap an adult. The solution to this challenge is investing in compliant covers. If you do not know how to identify the right choice, consult your pool service provider for advice.
Conduct Regular Repairs
Pools, like other domestic installations, are bound to experience wear and tear after extended use. Make sure that you conduct repairs regularly to keep your swimming pool in top shape. Also, it would help if you corrected defects as soon as you notice them.
Take the Pledge
Before you head out for a swimming session, remember to take the pool safety pledge. This is an online campaign that reminds people to observe safety measures in and around water.
Avoid Distractions
After taking children to a swimming pool, some parents immediately leave them at the mercy of lifeguards and start using their phones. It only takes a few seconds for a child to drown. This means that you need to avoid distractions to prevent such incidents.
Talk about Drowning
It might be a scary subject, but you should talk to your children about drowning. Tell them about its effects and show them how to avoid it. If there has been a victim of drowning known to your family, engage your neighbor’s and advocate for better pool safety regulations.
Conclusion
Most pool accidents happen when a child is not swimming. For instance, they might slip into an empty pool, or drown in a pool with rainwater. It is essential to teach your kids that water can be as dangerous as fire or moving cars. Emphasize that they should not go near water without an adult, similar to the way they cannot cross a road without a grown-up.
Lastly, make sure that you invest in the right swimming gear. The suit should tightly fit so that it cannot get trapped in the pool openings. If your kid has hair, make sure that you tie it before they jump into the pool.
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