Swimming pool safety rules to keep your children safe.
Every pool owner understands the importance of water safety, especially as it relates to children. The good news is that swimming pool designs are crafted with safety in mind, making it easy to add items like a secure fence, lockable gate, and safety cover. To help you prevent accidents and other dangers, we’ve compiled a list of swimming pool safety rules that you can share with your kids.
Make Them Aware of Your Concerns
There’s a fine line between expressing your concerns for water safety and putting so much fear into your kids, that they’re too scared to go into the pool. You simply need to use a little tact and explain that the swimming pool safety rules are for their protection and aren’t arbitrary or as a way to reduce the amount of fun they can have. Make them aware that swimming is a safe activity, but there are certain rules that they must always follow.
Don’t Go into the Pool Alone… Ever
One of the most important things you can do to promote safety is to install pool fencing that will keep children out. That being said, you should never take a child’s curiosity for granted, because that’s when accidents can happen. Let them know that they are strictly prohibited from entering the pool area without an adult and that there will be severe consequences if they do.
Always Enter the Water Feet First
The best way for any child to enter the pool is to go feet first. The problem is that your kids have probably seen people dive into pools or other bodies of water, whether in real life or on TV. Just let them know that this isn’t safe, especially for young kids. The exception, of course, is if you have a diving board and the children are a little older, they can responsibly dive – but only in that area.
Tell them that they can learn to properly dive into pools when they are a bit older.
Wear a Life Jacket or Swimming Floaties
Learning to swim is certainly exciting for young children, but it will take them a while to adapt. Signing them up for swim lessons will help give them the needed confidence, in addition to learning proper pool safety. If your child is inexperienced or very young, they should always be wearing either a life jacket or some other flotation device.
No Running Around the Pool Deck
To be fair, we’ve probably all run around the pool deck at one time or another because we didn’t know better. This should never be allowed, however. The sides of the pool can get quite slippery, which can cause a child to slip and hit their head or otherwise injure themselves. To be extra safe, you can also have a custom pool builder design a deck that has more traction.
Don’t Jump In to “Save” a Friend
While their efforts may be noble, no child should jump in the pool if he or she thinks one of their friends is in danger. Let them know that attempting to get a child out of the water isn’t easy and is more likely to end in injury for both of them. Instead, they should immediately tell you or another adult that their friend seems to be in distress.
Stay Away from the Pool Drains
You wouldn’t think that a pool drain was something that a child needs to be warned about, but it definitely is. If a child has loose clothing or long hair, they can become entangled by the drain. Check the drains periodically to ensure they’re properly secured and tell your children to stay away from them while swimming.
Always Wear Ample Sunscreen
As you can already tell, not all pool safety tips are about being in the water. You probably don’t want to worry your child about how sunscreen can reduce the risk of getting skin cancer, but you should definitely express to them that sunburns are not a good thing. Luckily, all it takes is one bad sunburn for a child to completely understand why wearing sunscreen is important.
Inform an Adult of Any Problems
Whether you’re the pool owner or a visiting adult, it’s essential that you always pay close attention to what’s going on in the pool. However, to help ensure that no accidents occur, tell your children to inform an adult of any problem, no matter how big or small. Let them know that it’s better to be safe than sorry and that every concern will be taken seriously.
Contact Larsen’s Pool & Spa for More Swimming Pool Safety Rules
As the premier custom pool builders in Tampa with years of expertise in the industry, Larsen’s Pool & Spa always stresses the importance of proper swimming pool safety rules to keep you and your loved ones safe. If you have any questions about safety or would like to learn about our swimming pool financing options, give us a call at (727) 786-POOL (7665) today.
