Swimming pools provide hours of fun for children, but pools can be dangerous, particularly for very young children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that approximately 300 children under 5 years old drown in swimming pools every year. Keeping children safe in and around swimming pools requires adequate pool safety precautions and constant adult supervision.
Prevention/Solution
Fences help keep children from accidentally wandering into the pool area. If one wall of your house takes the place of the fourth side of a fence, the doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with an alarm or the pool should have a power safety cover, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Your town may have specific rules regarding the height of the fence. A minimum height of 4 feet will help prevent children from reaching the pool. Smooth-surfaced fences that don't contain large openings should be used, as these types of fences don't provide hand or foot holds that allow children to climb over the fence. Self-latching, self-closing gates on fences ensure that gates close firmly and won't open even if children push on them. The fence latch should be located high enough that children can't open the fence.
Warning
Older drain coverings in the bottom of a pool can trap a child's limbs or hair, preventing the child from reaching the surface. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act requires all public pool drains to be fitted with drain covers that prevent entrapment. Make sure that any public pool you visit uses drain covers on all drains. If entrapment does occur, the Pool Safety Council recommends shutting off the pool pump immediately or pulling the child sideways off the drain to break the suction.
Supervision
Constant supervision requires never leaving children in the pool area without an adult present. In the time it takes to run into the house to answer the phone or use the bathroom, your child can enter the pool and slip under the surface of the water. While lifeguards can help prevent drowning, it may be difficult for lifeguards to see every child in a crowded pool, making it important for parents to personally supervise children in a public pool. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests keeping children younger than 5 years within arm's length of an adult when in a swimming pool.
Pool Cleanliness
If you are visiting a public pool, make sure that the water is clean and clear before allowing your children to enter it. If you can't see the bottom of the pool, it isn't clean enough. Dirty pool water is not only unhealthy for your child, but can make it difficult to notice if your child is submerged under the water.
Swimming Skills
Teaching children to swim may help protect them from drowning, but children who know how to swim can experience problems in the pool, too. Supervision is required, no matter how well your child can swim. Insist that children stay in the shallow end of the pool if they don't know how to swim yet. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not using air-filled "swimming aids" as a substitute for life vests. Life vests may be sturdier than air-filled aids and won't develop leaks.
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