Measures To Take To Ensure Your Pool Is Child-Friendly

 

 

Pools often add significant value to your home. These locations serve as a gathering spot for your family, friends, and neighbors to enjoy the outdoors, find relief from warm temperatures, and enjoy good company. In particular, children often remember the times they spent by a pool during their vacations and leisure times.

 

That said, if not properly identified and addressed, pools can precipitate numerous hazards capable of placing youths in danger. Therefore, you are firmly implored to partake in measures geared towards ensuring your pool's environment is as safe and healthy as possible.

 

Pool Accident Statistics 

 

In Australia, the number of pool accidents involving children is alarming. Research compiled towards the end of 2021 concluded that, of the 532 young people that have drowned nationwide since 2002, more than half did so in a swimming pool.

 

Moreover, these sobering statistics do not include pool-related injuries. For every one child who dies in such mishaps, another eight are admitted to the hospital with wounds requiring multi-day stays. In other instances, impacted kids sustain permanent brain damage and life-long health problems.

 

Safety Measures Designed To Ensure Pools Are Kid-Friendly

 

The aforementioned facts are scary. Fortunately, however, you can avoid adding to these figures by engaging in certain practical safety measures specifically designed to protect children. Such efforts include:

 

Ensuring Adult Supervision Occurs At All Times

 

Researchers also discovered that many incidents involving kids occurred because youths wandered poolside unsupervised. Attending adults must not only be present but cannot allow distractions such as their mobile devices, books, or other activities distract them from the paramount responsibility of making sure their children are watched and safe at all times.

 

Installing A Pool Alarm

 

Alarms are also valuable tools. These devices can be installed across the pool's perimeter and sound when its sensors detect suspicious movement or activity. You might also choose to invest in weight-sensitive systems. These alarms go off when any individual, animal, or object over a certain pound limit falls into the pool's water.

 

Rendering The Poolside Slip-Resistant

 

Kids often like to run around and roughhouse a bit. When such actions occur at poolside, their chances of injury heighten. Luckily, slips and falls and associated wounds might be avoided by placing slip-resistant matting around the pool.

 

Inserting Protective Barriers

 

Barriers like fences and locked gates that could prevent kids from entering a pool unattended. Safety experts recommend fences be at least four feet or 122 centimeters high and not be equipped with foot or handrails. Moreover, slats should not be far apart. This prevents tiny youths from sliding through the said openings.

 

Teaching Youths To Swim

 

This seems like silly advice but could prove crucial. The simple fact is that every child old enough to enter the pool should be taught the basics of swimming. Therefore, if the unthinkable does happen, the said youths will be able to gather their bearings and swim to safety.

 

Learning Proper Emergency Techniques

 

Unfortunately, accidents do happen. Ergo, adults might save a life by receiving instruction in life-reviving actions like cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is often abbreviated simply as CPR.

 

Following Appropriate Maintenance Procedures

 

You should not overlook proper maintenance. Any tiring or deteriorating physical or internal structures should be identified and promptly repaired or replaced. Adhering to regular maintenance and cleaning schedules might also prevent potential health risks like respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.

 

Having The Pool Routinely Inspected

 

Above all, you are strongly encouraged to have your pool routinely examined by a team of experienced and skilled pool inspectors like those employed by POOLINSPEC.

 

Respectable and professional inspectors will follow a thorough checklist of important issues and carefully determine if your pool meets such standards. If your facility lacks in any way, said establishments will offer suggestions regarding how to fix such concerns.