This cold weather we are currently having in Atlanta brought back a memory of mine from last year. It was a snow day, which is rare in Atlanta, and my 7 year old daughter, who is an excellent swimmer, was playing outside with her friend. She was bundled in her snowsuit. She is probably one of the few children in Georgia with a snow suit. But, I, a native Michigander, want to make sure she is prepared for a FUN snow day should the occasion arise. Anyway, they were near our uncovered pool, and she was playing with the spillway that goes from the spa to the pool. I glanced out the back window, after having told them to stay away from the pool, and to my surprise, she had fallen in. Snowsuit and all. I wasn’t worried about her swimming ability. I was more concerned with hypothermia at that point. To make a long story short, she was fine. Just shaken up a bit from the cold water. But this leads me to the following tips to keep your children safe around swimming pools:

1. Never rely on a safety advice such as an alarm. Nothing can take the place of adult supervision.

2. Teach your children to NEVER lean over the pool or play around the pool. They can easily fall in.

3. Do not let children ride bikes, jump on pogo sticks, or use other toys such as these near a swimming pool.Swimming pool builder Atlanta

4. Remove all floats from the pool when it is not in use. You want to maintain clear visibility underwater.

5. Give all children a strict set of guidelines to use in and around the pool and make sure they understand the consequences for breaking the rules.

6. If you have in inground pool, you must have a fence surrounding it. The height depends on the county you live in. Make sure your fence is equipped with a self closing and self latching gate to prevent unwelcome curious little visitors (aka: wandering children). The latch should not be accessible by small children.

7. If your pool is uncovered when not in use, make sure the water is CLEAR so that you could see if someone were to accidentally fall in.

8. Impress upon children the dangers of swimming alone. No one should swim alone. Children must have qualified adult supervision at all times.

9. If one of the barriers to your pool is your home and it has a rear entry door, be sure to equip the door with door chimes that sound an alarm when the door is opened.

10. Keep a portable phone or cellular phone poolside in case of an emergency. Seconds matter when water is involved.

These tips are just some common sense ideas to help keep children safe near your swimming pool. Nearly 300 children under the age of five drown each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Please remember that the best defense against drowning is adult supervision.

As always, Watercolors Custom Pools would love to hear your feedback. If your found this information helpful, please link to it.