With summer approaching, it’s time to open up your pool! Poolside barbecues, pool parties for the little one’s birthdays, all of that. But as hyperactive and jumpy kids can be, it is essential to make indoor pools a safe and secure environment.
According to the CDC, on average, 390 children die from drowning in the US. This is a terrifying statistic, and more often than not, investigations find that these accidents are caused due to unsupervised parents, deep pools, and/or a lack of gates around the pool. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent them.
How do Children Drown in Pools?
As briefly mentioned above, some of the major reasons that lead to children drowning in pools would be parents or caretakers not keeping an eye on them, pool levels being too deep for the child or one of the most common ones, proper gates or fences not being installed around the pool. Keeping the pool clean is also essential to keep it safe. You can take the services of professionals to keep your pool clean and safe. Check out https://easypoolcleaning.com/ to get in touch with the experts in pool cleaning services.
Let’s take a closer look at the major reasons we discussed,
1. Lack of Supervision
A leading cause of death in children, drowning takes the lives of over 1000 children every year. It is the major cause of death in children ages 1-4 and the second leading cause of death in ages 5-14. It is sad to relate, but most of those deaths are caused by parents being inattentive to their kids while in or around pools. A study by the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network has shown that 7 in 10 children drown from unsupervised adults.
It is often found that either parents or caretakers were too intoxicated to look after their children and/or distracted or occupied by some other task while their children were in the pool.
2. Deep Pool Levels
Indoor pools at gymnasiums or swimming complexes often have large deep pools. This can prove fatal for children in the pool as toddlers may drift off to the deep end and be unable to swim back up. In addition, unmarked indicators and signs for depth levels can also prove hazardous for parents who may not be able to gauge the depth.
3. No Gates or Fencing Around the Pool
Many children drown in indoor swimming pools, either at their homes or the homes of their relatives. This happened when they went out strolling and wandering around the pool area without anyone and fell in. Or crawled through the doggy door, climbed out of their playhouses, or got curious chasing a butterfly or bugs.
This can easily be avoided with a simple fencing system around the pool. There are so many instances where a child can fall into the pool, and without a fence, the chances of that are frighteningly high. Only a few states implemented laws regarding fencing for pool safety.
4. Some Other Causes of Drowning, According to the CDC are,
- The child is not able to swim.
- Unsuitable locations, bathtubs or adult pools.
- Not taking preventive measures such as wearing life jackets or floaties.
- Slipping on wet tiles or falling over.
- Inattentive lifeguards or security.
- Old equipment, or broken diving boards, punctured floaties.
- Toys left in or around the pool area.
- Missing depth markers or indicators.
- Nighttime swimming, swimming in the rain.
Other reasons include alcohol or drug-related accidents with parents, children suffering from seizures and heart disorders, and those on the autism spectrum who cannot function from impaired motor skills and/or side effects from their medications.
Essential Tips to Keep the Pool Safe
- Keep a close eye: When taking young children to the pool, it is important to always keep your eye on them. You mustn’t let them out of your sight for a second, as children can be notoriously fast. Whether you’re at your rooftop pool with family or at a public swimming center and seeing a group of lifeguards, you can’t rely enough on someone other than yourself.
- Stay away from your phone: Being occupied by your phone and not paying attention to your surroundings can be detrimental to you and your children’s lives. Your Instagram reels will be there, so let that rest while regarding your kids’ safety.
- Teach kids to swim: Investing in swimming lessons for kids at their developmental ages (4-5) is best. If you’re unsure about it, speak to their pediatrician or some experts about when it is appropriate for kids to go swimming. It is also best to have a professional teach your child to swim instead of teaching them alone.
- Learn CPR: This is a beneficial skill to learn regardless. Of course, we hope you never have to use it, but knowing if a child drowned and had to be resuscitated is a powerful skill.
Some Important Stuff to Fool-proof Your Pool
- Put fences around your pool: A fence barrier should be at least 4 feet high and have no gaps in between, so the child cannot squeeze through. It should also not have any footholds or handholds so the child cannot climb it themselves. Lastly, the most important thing is for the fence to be locked at all times and for its latches to be above the children’s reach.
- Preventive measures and equipment: Keeping life jackets and floating devices within reach is always smart. But they’re not the end-all to keep your child safe from drowning.
- Install alarm systems: Alarms are extraordinary safety measures for the pool to keep your child out of danger. Not only will they keep your child safe, but they can also help keep you safe. You can even install surveillance cameras to be safer.
Some More Tips to Keep the Pool Safe
- Inspect the pool: This is an important indoor pool installation task. Put drains in specific locations, preferably in the corners. Drains are dangerous and suck in a child’s hands, hair or feet when they’re in the water.
- It starts from the beginning: When building the pool, use bright colored tiles inside instead of opaque colors like black or blue. This is important, so you see clearly through the water. Also, pool lights are always an excellent safety measure and look great!
- Cover the pool: When nobody’s using the pool, keep it covered. An automatic cover, there are ones you can operate from your phone. Make sure you install covers that cover the entirety of your pool, you cannot risk having any gaps or open spaces.
What Not to Do When you’re at the Pool with Kids?
Now that we’ve gone over what you should do at the pool with kids around, let’s take a look at some of the things you should never do around the pool.
- Stay on your phone: A reiterated point, but we’re all guilty of doing this. Always be on guard and be attentive and aware when kids are near a swimming pool. So stay off your phone.
- Don’t drink or smoke: Being intoxicated can impair your vision and awareness, so you may not notice an accident. So you should avoid alcohol or other addictive substances around the pool.
Run around: This goes without saying, but innocent hide-and-seek or chasing butterfly games with your kids can quickly become deadly.
Conclusion:
We hope you consider some of these preventive measures to avoid accidents around your indoor pools with kids. Share this article with your friends and family so they too, can be safe and sound at the pool with their kids. We hope you have a happy, joyful, and safe summer
FAQ
1. Can I Install my own Rooftop Pool?
Ans: Guess the answer… yes! You can totally install your own rooftop pool! Sure you’re going to need a lot of time and energy, but if you can plan out correctly, you can build yourself a great rooftop pool! First and foremost, you will need to measure out the property and finalize where you want your pool to be. This requires some careful structural calculations, as you will need to determine the size of your pool, the weight of the pool depending on your rooftop and some other thorough measurements. For a full detailed manual on how to install your own rooftop pool, check out this article, “A Guide to Installing A Rooftop Pool”.
2. How do I Install my own Pool Covers?
Ans: This is a job best done by professionals, but if you want to do it yourself, you sure can! There are tons of YouTube tutorials that show you how to do so and be ready to spend a few hours on the project. Remember to wear gloves, protective goggles and most importantly, a good eye on where you are. It is best you wear rain boots since you will be working in a potentially wet area. Nowadays you can order pool covers online and they come all set and ready with installation methods and all the right tools. So get your DIY on and cover that pool!
3. Can I Set up my own Fences around the Pool?
Ans: Setting up safety fences around the pool is easier than you think! Just like everything else, there are loads of tutorials on installing fences on YouTube. You can set it up, step by step and assemble it all by yourself. Be careful when you’re digging the ground for post holes, they can be tricky. Wear thick shoes or boots, also gloves, and be mindful of where you aim the shovel. Once you’ve dug the holes, measure the distance from your pool to where you want your fence to be. Again just like everything else, you can order various types of fencing poles and tools online. Happy DIY-ing!