An off-duty lifeguard was performing CPR trying to help the boy survive when the police arrived. The boy was taken to the hospital but sadly, at 10:30 PM he was pronounced dead. The family was in shocked knowing that the boy knows how to swim and even with many people around, no one has noticed he was drowning. (Source: http://www.cbs8.com/story/31803713/police-investigating-after-8-year-old-boy-drowns-in-mission-valley-swimming-pool/)

Drowning is one of the major reasons for children’s accidental death. A child can drown in the time it takes to answer a phone. Child drowning is a silent death. There are no splashing or sounds to alert someone that a child is struggling. Additionally, there have been reports about kids being involved in pool accidents that resulted in grave injuries. Homeowners should prioritize and improve swimming pool safety.

Here are 3 safety tips that will help prevent child drowning and improve pool safety:

1. There is no substitute for active adult supervision. It is very important to actively supervise your children whenever they are in and around your swimming pool. This means that your kids, especially if you have infants or toddlers, should be within arm’s reach. If there are several children swimming, designate someone to supervise for a certain amount of time to prevent gaps in supervision. Having someone who knows CPR is also important and will give you peace of mind. It’s a skill that will save anyone’s life.
2. It is also important to first educate your kids about swimming safety, especially if it’s their first time to swim in the pool. You can enroll your children in swimming classes if you think they are ready. It is important to teach your children with the basics like how to float, tread water, and stay by the edge. You also have to make sure they only swim in designated areas. They need to be aware of how deep the water is and for uneven surfaces. If it’s their first time, teach them to never go in the pool unless you are present.
3. Take extra steps by installing pool fences and alarms. Installing high-quality fences should be a priority for homeowners who have little ones at home. Having fences surrounding the pool can block access to smaller kids and can essentially prevent any accidents. You should also install pool alarms to alert you if someone is around the pool or if something has fallen into the water. They can be considered as your last line of defense.

Life Saver Pool Fence of New York understands the need and importance of installing pool safety fences and alarms. We can help you improve pool safety. Contact us for free estimates and consultations. Call us at (516) 766-5336.

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A big float drifted in front of them and they couldn’t be seen. So now they were both under the water, silent, and no screams for help and there were adults, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all around them, some within arm’s reach. They were drowning and no one knew. I scanned the pool and couldn’t find my daughter Alexa. So frantically, I searched around the pool, looking for her in the sea of waves, laughs, and games. I got to the other side of the big float and then I saw Alexa and Douglas, under the water, drowning right in front of me and their entire family.

She had her floaters on, but she and the floaters were completely submerged under the water. I jumped in without thought and grabbed Alexa and Douglas. They were fine, it turned out I was just in the nick of time, and it was within seconds of this happening I pulled them out of the water and put their little feet on solid ground.

The most astonishing thing to me was because they were safe and I got them, it was OK. Everyone immediately went back to having fun. For me it was life changing, right then I knew that my eagle eye, my fatherly instinct of protecting my daughter was not enough. I turned my attention for a few moments, and the worst nightmare any parent could go through could’ve happened to me and my family. SUPERVISION CAN AND DOES FAIL! Drowning is a silent death with no cry for help. Thank God it didn’t happen to me.

Now I have my rules and it’s all about safety.

When planning a pool party for our children, we tend to put more focus on the fun and games of the party. Any successful event is an event without accident or injury. Pool safety should be our first priority when owning a pool or when planning a swimming pool themed event for our children. Our guests will feel more at ease and more comfortable when we have instituted layers of protection. We need to come as close as possible to a fail-safe system of preventing drowning and near drowning incidents.

THERE IS NO COMPROMISE WHEN IT COMES TO POOL SAFETY. WE ARE DEALING WITH A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION.

Have a set of Pool Rules.

We all have tendencies to give a little leeway on rules with our children. But with a pool, our rules must be definite and our children must abide by them.

Supervision is our first and most important layer in our rules. When having a party share the responsibility with other parents and adults attending. Get a whistle and a timer, set the timer for 20-30 minute intervals and put the whistle in the hand of the adult in charge of supervising for that time period. What the whistle does more than anything else, is it becomes a reminder for the entire time period that you are the Life Guard, it’s your job, you cannot be focused on anything else whatsoever at all. It also gives everyone a chance to have fun knowing that there is someone doing nothing else other than supervising the activities in and around the pool. Your guests must understand that for that time period, the person supervising cannot be distracted.

When having a pool party, sometimes the pool can get a bit crowded. You may have older kids jumping in the pool and creating waves. If there are younger ones in floats or swimmies these waves could cause them to take on the water. Just like a blow-up bouncer for a party, we never let older kids and toddlers in the bouncy at the same time. Why? Because we don’t want our little kids to get hurt. It is the same idea when it comes to a pool but 1 million times worse. We need to keep horseplay to a minimum and to separate the pool time for older kids and toddlers.

Don’t allow for any circumstance an adult to take a child into the pool without a life vest. This gives the toddler a false sense of security. It says that it’s ok to go in without a life vest. Maybe their older brother or sister isn’t wearing one because they are a strong swimmer, they’re fine and they’re having fun. The toddler figures their having fun it must OK. We tend to get more involved in the fun rather than focus on the apparent danger.

If you owned a boat and got stopped by the Coast Guard, and they did a check of your boat. They would first make sure that you have enough life vests to accommodate all your guests on that boat. When you have a pool party, wouldn’t be wise to have life vests for at least your young guests on hand? Swimming pools are a leading cause of child drownings and yet we never think about what we could do to make our pools safer. You would never leave a loaded gun on a coffee table in your house, especially with children around. Then why would we have an unprotected swimming pool around our kids? The outcome of both is the same and there really is no difference. It’s just a matter of time until that gun goes off.

Safety is all about planning and getting as close as possible to that fail safe system. Have as many layers of protection as possible when you own a pool. Have a definitive set of pool rules, where there is no leeway only your way. Be a dictator when it comes to those rules. Lives depend on it.

For more information visit: http://www.poolfenceny.com/swimming-pool-safety/.

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