Keep Your Pool Area Safe 
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning remains to be the second leading cause of injury-related death for children aging 1 to 14 years old. Although drowning statistics have slowly declined in recent years, this does not mean that attention to personal safety and vigilance over children’s welfare around the backyard pool can be eased up.
Education Matters
Contrary to popular belief, drowning is a fast and silent killer. The victim will not attract immediate attention and can drown in seconds even when the body of water in question is just 30 millimeters in depth.
As such, proper education on pool-related matters is very important to everybody who possesses backyard pools. First and foremost, adults must learn to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) because emergency first aid can and will mean the thin red line between life and death. CPR classes can be had from the local Red Cross and YMCA/YWCA chapters as well as in the local hospital. However, it is also important to put the CPR instructions and the local emergency number in plain sight so that even children can call emergency services personnel when necessary.
Also, there must always be close adult supervision when children are using the pool, or even when they are just playing around it. Adults must always stay within plain sight and even within arm’s length of children aged less than 5 years old to assist them in swimming. No matter what happens, never leave young children unattended even for just a few minutes.
Children also must be taught never to swim alone. When they are with their buddies, they must never jump into the water when they see someone in danger of drowning. Instead, they should immediately call for help from an adult.
Everybody must be informed never to swim and/or supervise when they have consumed alcohol and illegal substances as well as medicines that cause drowsiness. Other "never rules" include no swimming when tired and when just finished eating, no using the pool when thunder or lighting is present and during rainstorms and no going near the filters and diving boards.
Of course, it does help that everybody takes swimming lessons. This is not, however, an assurance that the family’s safety in the backyard pool is 100% guaranteed. Other measures in the pool’s physical infrastructure and personal safety devices are still very important.
Physical Infrastructure
The following inventory of pool infrastructure can facilitate in ensuring that your backyard pool will be safe in the summer months:
First, check your local authorities for the law-mandated height for the pool fence. However, try to install a fence six feet or higher simply because children can and will climb to test their physical skills and mental limits. Once the pool fence has been installed, make sure that the gates remain locked at all times when the pool is not in use or when no adults are around. Hide the keys in a secure location away from the reach of children. Also, choose gates with self-closing and self-latching features to avoid children accidentally opening them and thereby gaining unattended access to the pool.
Second, install alarms to the doors and windows leading to the pool that alerts the adults in the house when somebody is trying to go outside into the pool area. If the budget allows it, infrared motion detectors can also be installed in the pool’s perimeter. All these are particularly helpful when small children are around. To complement the door alarm, an appropriately-designed pool alarm must also be installed. Just like the door alarms, water motion alarms make warning sounds when somebody or something like a small child, a pet, and a pool toy, touch the pool’s surface. Falling leaves and blowing air, however, do not affect it.
Third, swathe the pool with an impenetrable covering to block access to the water. It is best to choose a hard pool cover that meets product standards simply because children cannot fall through them and into the pool. With soft covers, children can get tangled up in the cloth and get trapped under the cover. Also, be very careful about installing pool covers with electric or automatic controls. Children can accidentally set them on and off thereby trapping them inside the cover.
Fourth, keep the foliage in the pool area to a minimum. If this is not desired, then choose plants that pose no slip and slide risks; ask the nursery supervisor for plants and trees that are not appropriate to the pool area because of these risks. Besides, abundant flora on your backyard pool might look posh but it can be the ruin of the pool’s filter system. And almost daily cleaning up after fallen leaves and flowers is no easy matter either.
Fifth, make sure that essential pool rescue equipment is by the pool or in its near vicinity, which must include life rings and shepherd’s crooks. Always keep in mind that floating toys and inflatable pool beds are not life-saving devices. Another way to keep the pool safe is to clearly delineate between the shallow and deep ends of the pool. This can be achieved by installing rope and float lines as well as placing markers to differentiate the depths between kiddy and adult pools.
Personal Safety Devices
Of course, personal safety devices must never be forgotten in the equation. Life vests for small children are compulsory because they have yet to learn to swim capably and they have greater tendencies to panic in stressful situations like drowning than most adults. The fact that floating toys are not life-saving devices cannot be overemphasized.
Also, always remember to store the toys in the proper storage area when these are not in use. This is to prevent children from being tempted to reach out for them and thereby getting into the pool.
Indeed, water is life and water is fun when the necessary safety measures can be adapted to the backyard pool.
Author: Denise Sanger
Denise Sanger is the owner of USA Pool Toy which specializes in wholesale pool toys and backyard accessories. She also owns and operates NewCoolToysOnline.com that carries a large selection of unique pool toys.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_Sanger
The Swimming Pool Safety Alarm
Having a pool in your backyard can be a great way of enjoying summer family fun and children love it.
Home Security Systems » Swimming Pool Alarms
Some of the best childhood memories of summer revolve around good times in the swimming pool. Swimming pool alarms are a wonderful, and much needed, invention that helps to keep quickly alert parents if a child falls into a pool while no adult is around to supervise.
The Aquaguard is the most trusted name in pool security because it’s the most reliable consumer-installed swimming pool alarm. Our system detects a child or pet (18 lbs or more) falling into the pool or spa while being virtually immune to wind and false alarms.
The swimming pool protector alarm is designed to detect intrusions similar to a one year old child weighing 18 pounds and up and once installed in the pool, cannot be de-activated; it is always in the alarm ready mode.
Remember that pool alarms are one tool that will help to make your swimming area safer. Parental guidance and vigilance are primary in insuring pool safety. This is an investment in your family’s future. Losing a child is devastating.
Pool Alarms – How They Can Help Save Lives
The Pool Protector swimming pool safety alarm has been designed with Your Child in mind. The Pool Protector Pool Alarm is the result of a combination of intellectualized quality design and high grade manufacturing techniques.
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July 28th, 2010 at 10:01 am
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