Keeping Your Family Safe Around Pools

If you have a private pool in your backyard, the number one thing you should be thinking about is safety. This is even more important if you have small children. Every year, in America, 300 children drown from in residential private pools. The number is much greater for the number of incidents each year. No one wants their child to have a bad experience with a swimming pool. Arizona is the highest state for number of incidents. If you do not want anything like this to happen to you there are a few things you need to remember when having a private pool. The number one thing that prevents children from getting into a pool is a fence or wall surrounding it.

If you want your fence to guard most effectively the fence needs to be at least four feet high and the slats should be no bigger than four inches wide. Any shorter than four feet can make a child climb the fence and children can slip through the slats if they are not small enough. Make sure your fence locks and there are no good holds for hands or feet so your child can not climb. Door alarms are also something that will definitely help in protecting your child. Put an alarm on the door leading to the pool that will make a sound whenever the door is open unexpectedly. Put this alarm on a code that only the adults know and put the pad out of reach of children.

A little bit of an alternative to alarms or fences in a power safety cover for your pool. These will make sure no one can get into the water without first opening the cover. This, of course, is an alternative because it is harder to monitor and can be quite expensive. The most commonly used tactics are the ones mentioned above. Of course, anything you build or put into your home can never replace the ultimate safety measure, your own discretion and paying attention. You are the number one defense in keeping your children safe from the dangers that come with a private pool. When around the pool, always keep an eye on small children and do not leave them for even a second. Seconds are all it can take for your child to go under. If a child all of a sudden goes missing around your home, check the pool first. The little bit of time spent looking anywhere else can increase the chances of injury.

Never prop open the gate to a pool or leave the door leading to a pool open, and do not leave toys around the pool, as this can attract young children. Following these easy steps will increase the safety of your pool and your family. Small children do not know how to look out for themselves and it is your job. Remember to always watch your children and keep them safe from harm. Pools are some of the most fun that you will have with your home and keeping them safe make it that much more fun.