Pool Safety

Pool Safely – Watch Children At All Times Around Pools and Spas This Summer

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) the first few months of 2011, resulted in 37 drownings and 38 near-drowning incidents  across America.

Many of the drowning incidents are preventable.  Drowning is the number one cause of death for children under five in Florida, Arizona, and California with a ranking of number two for over a dozen other states.

You can learn more about the campaign’s water safety steps here(pdf).

Help protect your children from drowning by doing the following:

• Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment.
• Maintain constant eye-to-eye supervision with children in and around the swimming pool and spa.
• Put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool.
• Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool.
• Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children’s reach.
• Keep rescue equipment (such as a hook or life preserver) by the pool.
• Do not use air-filled “swimming aids” as a substitute for approved life vests.
• A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) may add to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool.
• Teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.