The article written by Guy Barnes
Every summer, you hear tragic stories about children drowning in the pool. When any child is taken from us, it is a very sad event. As logic would dictate, child pool drownings are often avoidable events.
Make sure your pool is gated. This is such an important step in childproofing your pool that many townships have made it a requirement. If your pool is gated, with a lock, it is more difficult for your child to get into the pool area unattended. Note: I said it is more difficult, but as anyone with a child knows, nothing is impossible.
Make sure your children know how to swim. I started teaching my children how to swim the first summer after they learned how to walk. If your child can at least tread water, they are less likely to drown. While teaching your child to swim, you want to teach him or her best safety practices for the pool. Best pool safety practices include: never going to the pool without an adult, be sure to stay in a comfortable water height, and always use a tube or arm floaters. Lastly, never be afraid to ask for help.
A pool safety tip many don't think about is activating your home security alarm service when you are indoors with your children. This way, you will immediately know if they open the door to go out to the pool (or anywhere else)!
The most important thing you can do to protect your children? Know where they are at all times!
2 comments:
You're so right. Kids can drown in less than 20 seconds, and the US CDC reports that 75% of the little kids who drown had been seen by a parent less than 5 minutes before they were found.
You make a great point about gating your pool. It's super important to make sure the gate and fence meet safety standards. Kids can squeeze through bars that are too far apart and use bars that are too close together to get leverage to climb.
The one thing about your post that gave me pause was the mention of arm floaters (floaties? water wings?). These are great for giving kids who aren't familiar with the water an introduction, but you should get rid of them as soon as possible. They give parents and kids a false sense of security. (They're definitely not a substitute for a lifejacket.)
I'll never forget the moment that my son jumped into the pool thinking he had his floaties on. It shocked us both. Luckily, I was right there to pull him out.
Karen Murphy ~ my mom has an inground pool, and most of the littles use swimmies, but never without us right there with them. Kids can drown wearing life jackets, too. The best way to prevent drowning is to NEVER let kids swim alone, and to always be attentive. Always.
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