Visiting a swimming pool during the weekend or on an extended break with family and friends should be a joyful experience for children of all ages, but it takes only a momentary lapse in a parent’s concentration for their child’s safety to be compromised. It’s important to understand the unique safety challenges within a swimming pool and to follow expert tips to ensure your children are safe and free to enjoy a memorable experience in their local or home swimming pool. In this post, we’ll take a look at five swimming pool safety tips for kids.
1. Never Let Your Child Swim without Adult Supervision
It’s essential that your children have direct access to adult care while in the swimming pool. The person should have some swimming experience and know how to respond should your child require emergency care in the pool.
2. You Children Should Always Wear Safety Equipment
Children should always wear safety equipment while in the pool. It doesn’t matter if your child has a year or more of swimming experience, they can be quickly taken underwater by another person or object. Children are usually too small to react adeptly to being pushed underwater, and will require a floatation device for the majority of the time they spend in the pool.
3. Keep Rescue Equipment Close to the Pool
For those with home swimming pools, it’s important to be proactive on the safety needs of those using the equipment. Keep safety products and rescue equipment around the pool at all times to protect pool users and ensure there’s a mobile phone close to the pool area for placing quick calls to emergency personnel. This could help save a child’s life.
4. Doors Leading to Pools Should be Fitted with Alarms
Home pool owners should consider their home in addition to the pool when reviewing safety needs. The door from the home to the pool should be fitted with an alarm so that, if small children leave the property without supervision, nearby adults can react quickly to the potentially dangerous scenario.
5. Check the Depth of Water Before Allowing Children in the Pool
Adults should always ensure they have a full understanding on the depth of the water in all areas of a pool before they allow children to enter the swimming area. Check for dips in the floor and potentially slippery areas where children might fall. This allows you as the responsible adult to retain full control of the environment and protect your children from becoming overwhelmed by the height of the water.
Through careful analysis of swimming pool facilities and by preparing your home swimming pool space, you can ensure your child has fond memories of swimming during the summer months. To learn more best practices for child pool safety, speak with our trusted team directly!