Swimming is a favorite activity for children during summer, and it’s fun and good exercise too. But children don’t fully realize the danger of going into the water all by themselves. Here are some tips on how you can keep your children safe around swimming pools:
- Teach your kids how to swim. Swimming is an important skill that children should learn at an early age, as early as possible, especially if you have a pool in your backyard. Enroll them in swimming classes to learn the basics, and be sure they get a lot of practice. (It’s good for you too!)
- Teach your kids about pool safety. When young, they can learn not to run or play near the pool, to always use the ladder, to always have a swimming buddy, and all those pool safety basics we adults adhere to almost instinctually.
- Install a pool fence. You can teach them all about safety, but children simply love to play. Keep them away from the swimming pool area by surrounding it with a sturdy safety fence. This barrier prevents children from going near the pool without adult supervision.
- Get a pool alarm. A great addition to any swimming pool, whether or not you have kids, is a pool alarm. A traditional pool alarm will sound when something heavy disturbs the water. Another way to alarm your pool area is to install a gate alarm on your pool fence.
Teaching your kids how to to swim and about pool safety procedures will help them make the right decisions when it comes to playing, but when all else fails a pool fence/alarm combo is a solid back-up. These 4 steps are a good way to guard against accidents, but there is no sure-fire method to avoid them, as in any situation. Backyard Ocean recommends always supervising your kids when they are playing, in the pool or out.
