Home Pool Safety Tips

~ ~ Everyone in your family should learn to swim. The best thing anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim ~ this includes adults as well as children! A parent who can't swim cannot possibly retrieve a child who has fallen into the water.

~ ~ Make sure someone is watching your children around any water environment (pool, stream, lake, tub, toilet, bucket of water), no matter what skills your child has acquired and no matter how shallow the water. For younger children, practice "Reach Supervision" by staying within an arm's length reach.

~ ~ Use constant "eyes on" supervision at all times. The use of flotation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace parental supervision. Such devices could suddenly shift position, lose air, or slip out from underneath, leaving the child in a dangerous situation.

~ ~ If a child is missing, always check the pool, pond or lake FIRST, even in the winter. Just because its too cold to swim does not mean it is too cold to drown.

~ ~ Install a phone by the pool or keep a cordless phone nearby so that you can call 9-1-1 in an emergency. Keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it. Pole, rope, and personal flotation devices (PFDs) are recommended.

~ ~ Learn CPR and insist that all caregivers for your child know CPR and know how to swim.

~ ~ Enclose the pool completely with a self-locking, self-closing fence. If the fence has vertical bars, openings in the fence should be no more than four inches wide. The house should not be included as a part of the barrier.

~ ~ Never leave furniture near the fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence. Keep toys away from the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.

~ ~ Pool covers should always be completely removed prior to pool use.

~ ~ According to the National Drowning Prevention Association, whenever possible swim lessons should be continuous, year round, and not taken for just one season. Skills need to be developed and maintained.