Many would agree that summertime is the most exciting season of the year, and people are looking forward to taking a dip in the pool on a warm summer day again!
While chilling by your home’s swimming pool is a great way to spend summer, your swimming pool can also be a safety hazard for your family. Swimming can still be dangerous and poses a risk of drowning if swimmers are left unmonitored. Ensure that before you go swimming in your pool that you are well prepared and well educated on pool safety precautions.
To keep your family safe this pool season, here are eleven pool safety tips for summer.
- Store pool chemicals safely
While chemicals help maintain your swimming pool and keep harmful bacteria at bay, these are also dangerous when incorrectly handled without the proper tools and protective gear. Ensure that you keep pool chemicals safely stored and well-locked. Keep it out of reach of children and pets.
- Keep children away from drains
Drain covers can be dangerous death traps, especially for children. The suction pressure from underwater drains can be too much and cause drowning. Hair, bathing suits, arms, and legs can get caught in faulty drain pipes. This can lead to potential drowning and can even cause serious injury.
Avoid any of these accidents from happening by telling your children to stay away from drain covers. Teaching them about the dangers of drains will be a lifesaver for your family. Also, make sure you check and double-check your drain covers for missing screws and any potential cracks to avoid any drain-related accidents.
- Keep an eye on your children
Keeping an eye on your children while in the pool is a basic safety precaution. If you are unable to check on your child for a moment, ask another adult to keep an eye on them for you. Always be alert when your child is in the water. Children are unpredictable, and drowning incidents can happen in a blink of an eye. Avoid accidents like these by always keeping an eye on your children in the pool.
- Don’t play breath-holding games
While these are supposed to be fun, breath-holding games can pose a threat to your family. Excited and over-eager children may hold their breaths for too long and potentially drown. Children should not be holding their breaths for long periods. Children competing with one another to hold the breath the longest underwater is a dangerous game to play.
- Install pool barriers
By installing pool barriers, you are ensuring that unsupervised children will not have access to your swimming pool. A simple fence installation can be a deterrent for curious children who want to wade in the waters unsupervised.
Ensure that gates open away from the pool and not towards it. Make sure they are self-latching so that they can’t accidentally be left open making the swimming pool unguarded.
- Install an alarm
Aside from pool barriers, alarm installations can also be extra protection for your family. By installing alarms, you will be alerted when the pool gates are opened, thus catching any children who try to open the gates unsupervised.
- Prepare first aid kits and rescue equipment
Have a first aid kit that is regularly stocked with the essentials in case of any accidents. Keep rescue equipment easily accessible as well. By having rescue equipment such as tubes or a life ring, you can use it to pull someone out from the water. Store them near the pool, well-marked and accessible for any life-saving situations.
- Check the area for any pool hazards
When you are staying by the poolside, it is easy to slip, fall, and even hit your head. Make sure that the poolside is clear with no small objects left near the edges. Store any toys, tubes, and floats in their proper location when not being used.
- Learn CPR
CPR is a life-saving skill that you must have if you own a swimming pool. If any pool-related accidents happen in your home, it is best to be prepared and respond quickly as a parent. CPR is a crucial skill to learn and can make a huge difference between life and death.
- Teach your children how to swim
Children must know how to swim. This is a basic life skill to have and may come in handy if the moment comes. By teaching kids about swimming early on, they learn to become comfortable in the water as well as the proper safety rules that they should follow.
- Set some pool rules
Keep your family safe by setting some pool ground rules for everyone to follow. You may include some of these rules for your list: no running in the pool deck, no pushing, no swimming without supervision, no dunking or holding people underwater, no breath-holding games, no diving in shallow waters, no swimming alone—always have a pool buddy. By having a set of rules, you are encouraging safety in the poolside for your family.
Swimming is a great and fun activity to have with your family. Spending a summer afternoon with your family is a simple joy that cannot be replaced. Ensure that you and your family are well protected this summer and for future summer swimming seasons to come by prioritising safe pool habits.