POOL SAFETY TIPS

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Follow these pool safety tips to keep you and your guests safe by the pool this summer! I’ll even help you keep people from peeing in your pool!

The swimming pool is a place of gathering and a source of fun. The kids get SO excited to swim. Adults enjoy lounging and letting the little ones get their energy out. I grew up with a pool, and it never really got old. There’s nothing like submerging your body in cool water. There’s nothing like the weightlessness of a pool to soothe a pregnant body! Unfortunately, pools can be dangerous places too – especially for little ones. By following some specific pool tips, you can greatly reduce the chances of your beautiful lazy summer day turning into a trip to the ER or worse.

You’re only one swim away from a good mood

– Speedo

NO P IN THE OOL

Don’t forget to grab your free printable pool sign at the bottom of this post. It’s a cute way to make sure people don’t pee in your pool. With all this serious talk, I wanted to give you guys a little something to make you smile too.

POOL SAFETY TIPS – THE RISKS

According to the CDC website, there are about 10 drowning deaths per day that are NOT boating related. 1 in 5 of those are children 14 years old and younger. For each one of those, there are 5 children who receive medical treatment for submersion injuries.

The CDC site also says that children between the ages of 1-4 have the highest drowning rates. And most of those occur in pools.

POOL SAFETY TIPS – MY SCARE

They say that when everyone is watching, nobody is watching. That statement is so darn true. As I said before, I grew up with a pool. My parents still live in that house. They usually host a couple of parties per year where they open their home and pool to friends. It was at one of these parties that I got a real wake up call. Thanks God I was already “awake” so-to-speak and was able to prevent a tragedy.

My then 3 year old daughter had already completed her 2nd summer of swim classes. We were at my parents’ home for an end of summer party. We had been really working on teaching her to swim to the side of the pool if she ever found herself in trouble (either from falling in or leaving our arms). She knew what to do. I’d say she was over confident if anything, and had no fear of swimming underwater on her own. We even had her jumping in off the side of the pool at this point.

During this party, my 3 year old was on the steps in the shallow end. Two of my best friends were in the pool with her (as well as at least 10 other people), as well as their daughter who was 7 at the time. I was sitting right beside the pool in a chair I had pulled over specifically for the purpose of watching my daughter.

The 7 year old and my daughter are good friends, and they were playing together. The 7 year old was holding my daughter. I didn’t think it was the best idea, but they were having a great time. I knew my daughter was well within the range of distance she could comfortably swim. And there were 3 adults all right there.

A party guest came over to speak with me. We didn’t speak for more than a minute or two. I was glancing over to check on my daughter the whole time. She was directly between my two close friends, and in the arms of their daughter bouncing around.

After my conversation ended, I returned my full focus to the pool. I saw that my 3 year old was still in the arms of the 7 year old. The older girl was jumping up and down. When I first saw this happen just before I entered that conversation, my daughter’s head was well above water. But now the girls had drifted to slightly deeper water. Not only was my daughter’s head underwater, but each time the older girl jumped up my daughter’s head was not even coming out of the water for her to get a breath.

The 7 year old didn’t realize this, and neither did the adults around her in the pool. My little girl didn’t have the knowledge to wriggle out of the older girl’s arms and swim to the side. She was just trying to get a breath (unsuccessfully) each time they were jumping up.

I had no words. There was no forming a sentence to bring this to anyone’s attention. I don’t know that I had time anyway, because I don’t know how long she had been underwater for. I walked right into that pool fully dressed and grabbed my daughter. She was shaken up, but okay. She coughed just a little and took a few big gasps for air. I did my best to remain calm. I didn’t want to scare her and make the pool a scary place.

Had I not been RIGHT THERE watching, who knows how that would have ended. Of course I should have been, as I had a 3 year old novice swimmer in the pool. But it would have been all too easy to rely on the other adults in the pool, or to get wrapped up in that conversation and not cut it short, or even to rely on the 7 year old “just for a minute”. Luckily I caught things before any damage was done. It scared the CRAP out of me. Even after walking into the pool fully clothed nobody around me seemed to realize how serious the situation had become. My husband didn’t even really seem to fully grasp how serious things were. It seemed so shocking since there was no accident or commotion or crying, yet our baby almost drowned.

Drowning happens silently. There is no big struggle. There is no build up. It’s nothing like in the movies. It is a quick and quiet process. It can very easily go unnoticed even if you’re RIGHT THERE but not fully paying attention.

I hope these pool safety tips will help you keep your loved ones and guests safe and sound. The pool shouldn’t be a scary place, but it SHOULD be a place of vigilance and well communicated responsibility. Because if everyone is watching, truly nobody is watching.

POOL SAFETY TIPS + RULES

1. NO RUNNING Yes I know – the same old rule we’ve all heard. But people often mistake this rule to be only for the protection of the running person. It is, but it is also for the protection of other people who may not be good swimmers (or may be too young). They could easily get bumped into the pool. Imagine a toddler popping out in front of a running big kid and getting bounced right into the pool.
2. DESIGNATE AN ADULT I know I’m repeating myself, but I can’t say it enough. If everyone is watching, nobody is watching. An adult needs to be designated to watch the children. If that adult needs to run to the bathroom or their “turn” is over, then another adult needs to be specifically designated. Think of it like handing over a baton in a relay race. This is especially important if you have young children who can turn from okay to in danger in seconds.
3. CLEAN UP THE TOYS Another important aspect of pool safety is to make sure all the toys are removed from the pool and pool area at the end of the pool time. It’s already a lot to ask young children to resist the temptation of the pool. If the toys are just sitting/floating there beckoning them it gets even harder. It’s best to simply remove as much temptation as possible.
4. NO SWIMMING ALONE This needs to be drilled into the minds of the kids. But it’s also a good idea to use the buddy system as teens and even adults. Every once in awhile an accident happens. I have an odd story where I once knocked myself unconscious while home alone. If that had happened in a pool, I would have drowned. Weird things happen. Swim with a buddy whenever possible.
5. SWIMSUIT REQUIRED Teach your children that swimming is not allowed without a swimsuit. This isn’t for the sake of modesty. I know how easy it is to let the kids go for a dip in their birthday suits. The purpose is that it gives you a chance to notice that your child is preparing to go into the pool. Perhaps they will still mind this rule even if planning to break the rule about swimming alone. It gives parents more of a chance to see what they’re planning, or even just a little more time to prepare for a planned swimming adventure.
6. NO ROUGHHOUSING Again, this rule isn’t only for the people doing the horse play, but also for the people around them. I’ve seen innocent bystanders get jumped on and hurt.

OTHER POOL SAFETY TIPS

• NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT REQUIRED Make sure your child doesn’t always wear water shoes or goggles or other special equipment when they’re swimming. It may lead them to believe they cannot swim without it. This could cause them to freeze up in an emergency situation and think they cannot swim. Sort of like Dumbo and his feather.
• THE SHALLOW END DOESN’T MATTER Adults often teach small children to remain in the shallow end. This leads to two problems. First, the children fear the deep end, which is a hard thing to break later on. Second, they have a false sense of security in the shallow end. Small children usually cannot touch the bottom of the pool even in the shallow end. This means they can drown just as easily in the shallow end as the deep end.
• SEARCH FROM EDGE OF POOL Often, if a child goes missing, parents will scan the pool and the surrounding areas from a farther back vantage point or wherever they happen to be standing. In the unlikely event that a small child does fall into the pool, it will generally be at the edge the parent is closest too. They will be reaching for that wall (sometimes unsuccessfully). If you’re a few feet back, you cannot see the bottom of the pool at the edge your child is most likely to be at. Make sure you walk all the way to the edge of the pool so you can see all parts of it before you look elsewhere. Time is of the essence.
• EQUAL TO RUNNING IN THE STREET A child running to the pool should be treated with the same seriousness as a child running into the street. If a small child runs into the street unnoticed they at least have a chance of survival. If small child runs into the pool unnoticed it is almost certain death. The attitude for running into (or even near) the pool needs to be just as serious as running into traffic.
• LIFE VESTS AREN’T JUST FOR THE LAKE If you are in a situation where you think there is even a chance that you cannot be certain your child is supervised 100% of the time, bring a coast guard certified life preserver as a backup plan. I don’t love this idea, because I don’t think it means you can just stop supervising. But if we’re being honest, many summer parties involve distractions and maybe even some adult beverages. It’s much better to be safe than sorry. Your child will probably be excited to get to wear it! DON’T substitute with a floatie that’s not approved for preserving life. It will give a false sense of security.
• NO HYPERVENTILATING Some people will hyperventilate so they can hold their breath longer. This can cause them to pass out, so it really isn’t a safe practice.
• SWIM LESSONS It kinda goes without saying, but even the CDC website speaks to how much learning to swim can decrease risks. Don’t wait until your children are older before putting them in swim class. The younger they learn to swim, the shorter time they are in serious danger of drowning from falling into a pool or any other body of water.
• GATES + BARRICADES Of course all pools should be properly fenced with the latch out of the reach of children. The gates should never be propped open, etc. But sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we cannot exactly ask a homeowner to install permanent fixtures for us. Or perhaps it is an older home and it would cut off access to other parts of the yard to install a fence between the back door and the pool. In this instance, make sure you’re using baby gates, childproof door knob covers, and all the other tricks up your baby-proofing sleeve to keep your little ones from getting to that pool. And of course, watch them like a hawk.
• LIFEGUARD ON DUTY If you’re hosting a party and know there will be a lot of distractions and/or alcohol being consumed, you may want to hire a lifeguard. Make sure you let parents know that the lifeguard isn’t there to babysit, so they still need to supervise their children. But the extra set of eyes committed to the pool and having somebody trained in CPR is always a good thing.

I hope these pool safety tips will make your summer safer and more enjoyable. Once you have your guidelines in place it’s easy to confidently enjoy swimming with the family.

I learned some of these great tips at my daughter’s wonderful swim class. It is the same place I took lessons as a child, and it is taught by 3 generations of family. You can check them out at FOOTHILL WATER SAFETY.

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Click the sign picture below to download your free printable sign. Guests will smile, but they’ll also know you mean business!

Thanks for stopping by!!

XO,
Morgan
The Cheeky Homemaker

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