When you first bought your home, you were excited that there was a pool in the back yard. Now that you have children, you want to keep them safe while teaching them how to swim.
Do you know if your swimming pool is child-friendly?
We discuss five significant ways on what you can do to help your children become safer while they are outside in and around your pool.
It is a great idea to implement as many of these suggestions as possible, and if you already have some of these in place, that’s great!
How To Keep Your Swimming Pool Safe and Child-Friendly
1. Do You Have a Fence Around Your Pool?
If you have an in-ground pool, most municipalities insist that you have a fence around the perimeter of the pool. This fence will keep your children away from the pool unless you are around to supervise them.
Pools can be very inviting to children, and it is crucial that they not swim alone, even if they do know how to swim. A fence around the pool prevents any children from accessing the pool alone and decreases the risk of water-related injuries in children by more than 50%.
The fence should be a minimum of four feet in height and should not have any handrails used for climbing. A gate should enclose the fence and should have a latch that closes on the other side of the fence, out of reach of small people.
2. Does Your Pool Have Rule?
Before children have access to the swimming pool, they should be made aware of the fundamental rules that you need to establish in advance. Rules should include that there is no running or pushing around the pool and that there should be no diving into the pool.
If the weather forecast consists of a thunderstorm and lightning, everyone should go inside and get out of the pool. Pool rules should be created and discussed with the entire family present, with each member having input.
Rules should be discussed amongst family members to ensure that everyone understands their importance and the reasons behind them.
3. Do You Have Safety Equipment Handy?
A child-friendly pool should have flotation devices close by that can be used if someone is experiencing some problems.
These devices should be up to date, in new condition, and regularly inspected to ensure that any defective items are removed and replaced with more modern items.
Flotation devices are only useful if they are buoyant and will keep a person afloat until being pulled to safety. It is essential to maintain safety equipment within reach of all areas of the pool so that it can be easily accessed if and when it is needed.
4. Do You Have Pool Toy Storage?
Once the children are finished swimming and playing in the pool, all pool toys should be removed from the pool and stowed away. Pool toys can be quickly degraded in the hot sun when they are not in use.
Children have become injured, trying to retrieve toys from a pool. Therefore toy removal is essential at the end of a pool session. If your pool is an above-ground pool, you should take extra care by removing the ladder from the pool when it isn’t in use.
5. Consider swimming lessons for your children
Every child who is near a pool or open water regularly can benefit from learning how to swim. Many parents do not have the time or patience to teach their children to swim.
It is advisable to hire a professional swimming instructor to teach your children to swim the right way. A professional swimming instructor can teach children everything from all of the different types of strokes to floating for survival in open water.
Studies show that children who learn to swim are also smarter and tend to learn more quickly and have an easier time learning in school.
Conclusion
Making sure that your pool is child-friendly is extremely important. You want to know that your children and the children of others in your neighborhood are safe.
Children are naturally attracted to water and love to spend time in and around it. It is your duty as a parent to ensure that your children are well-equipped for swimming with the skills needed to stay safe.
When you make sure that you implement the ways that we have discussed to make your pool safer for children, you can relax knowing that you have done all that you possibly can as a good parent.
Pools are a great way to spend quality family time, and making sure that everyone is safe is the best way to have a good experience every time you and your children use the pool.
