It’s that time of year again! Summer is quickly approaching and with it brings a whole host of water-time activities. Whether you already have a pool in your backyard or you’re planning to build one, protecting children from open pools should be your number one concern. Too many unnecessary accidents take place every year with child drownings that could have been otherwise avoided. Being a recent and first-time mother, I was shocked to learn that drownings are the number two cause of death in children under 5 years old. I was additionally alarmed to learn that child drownings are a silent death; you won’t hear any splashing or cries for help. The most saddening statistic states that most child drownings happen within 5 minutes of parent or caregiver being distracted by common distractions.
National Water Safety Month reminds us that there are a number of things we can do to promote our own water safety:
- Teach your child to swim.
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Never leave your child unsupervised.
- Make sure your caregiver knows how to swim and is CPR certified.
- Have safety items around your pool for an emergency-cell phone and rescue equipment. After a drowning, start care immediately. Seconds count!
- Install locks and alarms on doors that lead to the pool.
- Install an Automatic Safety Pool Cover.
Automatic Safety Pool Covers are safety products. In less than a minute and with a turn of a key, you can close/cover your pool. This ensures that you control who gets in your pool and when. Recently we had a customer call us to share her story. They were in the process of moving and their little one got away from them for just a moment. They were relieved to find the little fella safely sitting on top of the pool cover! Automatic Pool Covers give you that extra layer of protection because even the most careful parent can’t be watching all the time.