3 Key Pool Safety Tips to Remember

Pool Safety Tips

The dog days of Summer are here, and if you’re like millions of other American families, you’ll be spending lots of time by the pool.

While pools offer a slice of paradise in your backyard – they can also be incredibly dangerous. Here’s 3 safety tips for you to keep in mind.

1) No swimming without an adult around

Drowning doesn’t look like what you see on TV. Don’t let children swim unsupervised, even if your kids are future Olympians. It’s always best to have an adult keeping an eye on things. At cook outs, it’s a great idea to have a rotating schedule of chaperones so every one can enjoy the party.

2) No running

This one is a no-brainer, but still critical to remember. Pool decks are slippery, and it only takes one fall for someone to get a nasty bruise (or worse!) Don’t take any chances. Walk, don’t run. The last thing you need is a trip to the hospital… or a lawsuit.

3) No diving in the shallow end (or no diving at all)

Research of Spinal Cord Injury Statistics found that 57.2% of all pool diving accidents occur in water 4 feet deep or less, while only 4.8% of swimming pool diving accidents occur in water at least 8 feet deep. Experts recommend no diving at all in above-ground swimming pools.

Pool Rules

A “Pool Rules” sign is a great way for you to remind family, neighbors and friends to be cautious in and around your pool. Visual reminders are an excellent way to keep everyone thinking about safety as they enjoy a dip. Search for an affordable sign online or consider creating a home made version with some plywood and paint. It can be a great Summer project for you and your kids, and creating the sign at home can even help your children memorize the rules.

Fencing

Most insurers require a fence around a pool to qualify for coverage. But even if they weren’t required, it’s always recommended for safety. Children go outside to play in the Summer, and your pool should be inaccessible unless there’s an adult around to supervise.

Talk to your insurance agent about your Homeowners coverage to make sure your pool meets the minimum safety standards required by most insurers.

Reprinted from Renaissance Alliance – no usage without permission.

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like What You See On TV

When we head to the beach or the pool on the weekends, most of us do so with a dangerous knowledge gap. We have wrong ideas about drowning and our ignorance means we don’t always recognize the signs of a person in distress when we see them. We are conditioned by movies and pop culture to think that a drowning person would yell and wave for help and splash violently to get attention. In reality, drowning is a quiet, desperate event – so quiet that every year, children die in pools and water just feet away from parents or friends who do not recognize the signs of distress.

Drowning behavior is so similar victim to victim that experts describe it as The Instinctive Drowning Response. Mario Vittone is an expert on water safety and he has been on a mission to raise awareness of what drowning behavior actually looks like – his blog post Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning is a really eye opener and something worth sharing.

He describes the behavior as:

The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning

Here’s a video showing instinctive drowning response.

Drowning can happen in seconds. A more widespread understanding of what signs of swimming distress and drowning behavior actually look like would help to save lives. Help to raise awareness – why not share this post with friends and relatives – particularly parents of young kids?

See related posts on pool safety:
Swimming pool and spa safety issues and insurance coverage

Pool & spa owners: Minimize your risk with simple steps for safety

When wild animals decide to take a swim in your pool

Reprinted from Renaissance Alliance – no usage without permission.