May 26, 2016

Hey all, I waited until today to post this because many pools in the Northeast have just been opened in time for the holiday weekend – and it looks like we’ll finally be swimming, even if it has to be in the rain (fingers crossed that the meteorologists are wrong again!)

Anyway, just wanted to share a couple of tips regarding safety that will ensure everyone has a happy and healthy holiday and swim season.

  • Teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.
  • Always brief babysitters on water safety, emphasizing the need for constant supervision.
  • Appoint a designated watcher to monitor children during social gatherings at or near pools.
  • Equip doors and windows that exit to a pool area with alarms.
  • Install a poolside phone, referable a cordless model, with emergency numbers programmed into speed-dial.
  • Post CPR instructions and learn the procedures.
  • Keep rescue equipment poolside. Don’t wait for the paramedics to arrive because you will lose valuable lifesaving seconds. Fort to six minutes without oxygen can cause permanent brain damage or death.
  • Keep a first aid kit at poolside.
  • Maintain constant visual contact with children in a pool or pool area. If a child is missing, check the pool first; seconds count in preventing death or disability.
  • Don’t use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision. Never allow a young child in a pool without an adult.
  • Don’t leave objects such as toys that might attract a child in the pool and pool area.
  • Never prop the gate to a pool area open.
  • Don’t rely on swimming lessons, life preservers or other equipment to make a child “water safe.”
  • Never assume someone else is watching a child in a pool area.
  • Don’t leave chairs or other items of furniture where a child could use them to climb into a fenced pool area.
  • Don’t think you’ll hear a child who’s in trouble in the water; child drowning is a silent death, with no splashing to alert anyone that the child is in trouble.

Pools are a great source of fun and relaxation, but we have to remember to respect the dangers that can present themselves if we are not careful. Please practice these, and pass along to your pool-owning friends to ensure that we all stay safe this year!

Thanks!
DP&S Staff