Poolside Safety for Children

The best way to cool off during the summertime is in the water. Whether your children relax at home in the pool or at a public pool, they need to follow safety measures to avoid serious injury. Help your kids to beat the heat and have fun.

Sit your children and their friends down and give them a rundown of the rules. If the pool is to be used then everyone needs to be safe and courteous. Write up a waiver for the use of the pool to distribute to friends and neighbors. Give it to the children to have signed by them and their parents before they can use the pool. This protects you and your family from lawsuits and other legal action in the event of an accident. The waiver should also provide a place for an emergency contact number in the event that one is needed.

No running should be allowed around the pool. When pool surfaces get wet, they get slippery. The water, the chemicals, sunscreen, and skin oils combine to soak the concrete and make it dangerous. Playing around the pool should not be permitted. To avoid accidental falls while walking, children should wear water shoes or flip-flops when not in the water. A head injury sustained in a fall could be deadly.

Keep smaller children in the shallow end of the pool. If your child can’t swim they should have on water wings or a life preserver. At a public pool, such as those at water parks, all children that can’t swim or are under a certain age are required to wear a life preserver. If older children are playing in the pool, they need to be mindful of young kids and be careful not to splash water in their faces or accidentally push them under the water. To ensure that everyone has fun, each child needs to be careful of others in the pool.

Keep watch over children when they are in the pool. Someone can drown in an instant. Young children should not be left unattended. They may try to signal to you if they need help. Wearing goggles will protect their eyes from the chlorine in the water. Also keep an eye on you child when they are near the pool. Drowning is one of the leading causes of children under five years of age. A child could reach for a toy that has fallen into the pool and accidentally drown as they try to retrieve it.

Make sure that all who supervise children in the pool have been certified in CPR. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation can save a life when someone has stopped breathing or their heart has stopped beating. At a public pool, the lifeguards are trained in CPR. At home, the parents will need to be the lifeguard. If you notice your child sink below the surface and they don’t come up shortly thereafter, pull them out immediately. Lay them flat on the side of the pool and begin CPR procedures. Have someone else run and call for an ambulance.

Make sure that all drains at the bottom of the pool are covered when the pool is in use. Children and adults have been known to get hair or parts of their bathing suit caught in the drains and eventually drown. Take care to make sure that all covers are securely in place and that there are no other hazards present in the pool that could cause accidental injury or death.

Pools are fun places to spend the summer, but they can be dangerous if not used properly. Protect your children from the start by setting down ground rules. Let them know that obeying these rules is the key to their safety.

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Nicole Dean invites you to www.ShowKidstheFun.com -- a free website filled with activities to make memories with your children and www.ShowKidstheMoney.com -- a fun and informative resource for moms who want to help their kids make money.

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