Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Keeping Your Kids Safe Around Water

During the summertime, going swimming is something that a lot of families like to do, but there are only a few of us lucky enough to have a safe swimming area in the backyard. Going to the river, the creek, or even the ocean can be dangerous, but you may not think about the dangers that can exist on your own property. If you do have the privilege of owning your own swimming pool, there are some safety rules that you need to have followed by all the members of your household if you are going to have a safe summer.

When it comes to having a pool, children that live in the home or in neighboring homes should be taken into account. One thing that every pool needs to have around it is a fence to keep not only intruders, but also neighborhood children out of it. This is for privacy reasons as well as safety, since if a child from the community manages to get in your pool and drowns, you are completely responsible because it was not sufficiently blocked off. However, if you have a fence around the pool and it is locked, the likelihood of this happening is extremely reduced.

Something that you can use to keep your own children safe and out of the pool when you do not want them in it is a product called Safety Turtle, which is a wrist strap that you put on the child and when it is exposed to water, it causes the base station that comes with it to sound a loud alarm that tells you the child is in the pool. If you have small children that you cannot always keep track of and you want to make sure they stay away from the pool, this is the best product to give you peace of mind.

If you are going to have a pool, you should also put a good amount of thought into learning CPR and other first aid techniques. Community pools have lifeguards on duty at all times, but when you are in the privacy of your own home, you do not have this benefit, so you need to learn these things yourself in case an accident occurs.

Please make sure that your children and the adults in your house all know that running outside around the pool is not acceptable. This is extremely dangerous and has been known to end in extreme head injuries and even death.

Keeping Safe Around The Water

Lots of families go swimming during the summer to find relief from the heat, especially since their air conditioners may not work, but one thing that a lot of people are not fortunate enough to have is a swimming pool in their backyard. Many people would be grateful just to be able to afford to go to the community pool, since most of these places require an entry fee, but if you have your own pool, you really do feel on top of the world. There are a lot of safety rules that you should follow if you are lucky enough to have your own pool, though, and we are here to tell you what they are.

Children are the victims of most pool-related accidents, so you need to make every attempt to make the pool area as childproof as possible. This means making sure that you factor in the cost of building a fence around the pool to keep not only your children, but other children that live in your neighborhood safe, as well. Unfortunately, you are liable if a child from the neighborhood falls into your pool and drowns. This is the last thing that anyone wants to happen, so building a high privacy fence around the pool and keeping the gate locked at all times is extremely important.

Another good thing to have in your home if you have small children is an item called the Safety Turtle. This is one of the best products that you can purchase for your home and it will give you a lot of security when it comes to keeping your little ones out of the pool. A wrist strap is put on the child that has a small turtle-shaped device on it and when that device is submerged under water, the base station that is hooked up inside your house makes a loud noise so that no matter where you are in the house, you know that the child has likely fallen into the pool.

Your children and any visitors to the home need to be taught that it is not a good idea to run around the pool. They can fall, hit their head, and drown much faster than you realize.

Any pool chemicals that you have should be stored in a safe place and locked up so children and pets cannot get into them. These items are poisonous and if ingested, could kill you.

How To Keep Your Kids Safe Around Water

Summers can get pretty hot in the United States depending on where you live and not a whole lot of people can afford to have a pool in their own backyard, but some of us are lucky enough to afford the privilege. For those of us who can afford this luxury, there are some rules that you need to follow to keep both you, your family, and the rest of the neighborhood safe.

If you decide to have a pool put in your backyard, you need to have a fence built around it, preferably a fairly high one. This is to keep your kids and the other kids in the neighborhood safe. You probably do not realize it, but if a child wanders into your yard, falls into the pool, and drowns, you are legally responsible because the area was not properly blocked off. A child drowning in your pool, whether it is your own or a neighbor’s, is the last thing that anyone wants to happen, so factor the cost of a privacy fence into the cost of having the pool built. A fence also serves to keep out pool hoppers.

Your children should understand that if they are caught running around the pool, they will be punished in some form or another. The surface around the pool can be slick and you can fall very easily into it, hit your head, pass out, and drown. No matter how safe you may feel like you are running, accidents can still happen, so make sure all of the adults in your home lead by example and do not run around the pool.

Care should also be taken when storing pool chemicals such as chlorine tablets and other necessary items. These can be poisonous and you do not want children or animals getting into them.

Kids should never be allowed near the pool while unsupervised and a product called Safety Turtle can help you monitor them. A base station is purchased along with a wrist band that, when submerged underwater, causes the base station to alarm. This will let you know from a good distance away that your child has either gotten into the pool or has fallen into it.

Something else you need to consider if you have a pool at your home is learning CPR and first aid. While a lifeguard at a city pool may know these things and you feel safe there, you do not have the benefit of a lifeguard in your own home unless you learn to be one.