Pool Safety Tips For Winter
As summer nears its end, its time to start thinking about preparing your pool for the off season. Even though you may not swim in your pool during the fall and winter months, it can still pose a risk to you and especially your small children. There are a few steps you can take to make your pool safer for your children while its not in use. Taking these steps is very important- according to the CDC, most children between the ages of 1 and 4 who drown, drown in a home swimming pool.
Follow these pool safety tips for winter to avoid serious injury or death-
- Cover your pool- Having a quality winter pool that is in good shape is important. A sturdy, high quality pool cover will generally keep a person out of the water should they fall on top of the cover. However, it is imperative that you let your children know they should never try to walk on the cover.
- Check your pool cover frequently- Make sure you visually inspect your cover often. The cover needs to be in working order and cover your entire pool. Any rips, tears, or holes should be fixed immediately as they can impair the effectiveness of the cover.
- Store your toys and floats- If you aren’t going to be using your pool, store all toys and floats away and out of sight. This can prevent your children from being drawn towards the pool as well as prevent accidentally tripping and falling.
- Fencing- The best way to prevent any accidents in or near your pool is to put a fence around it with a self closing, self latching gate.
- Active monitoring- If you have small children and they are outside, one of the best ways to keep them safe is to be proactive in monitoring them. If you are nearby, you can prevent them from getting too close to the pool. If they do happen to get too close and fall in, you’ll be right there to help them.
Pools are, without a doubt, a family friendly way to have fun and stay cool all summer. Although they do pose some risks, these risks are easily avoidable by following some safety guidelines.
If you, your child, or someone you know has been hurt in or near a pool, call Kyle today at (770) 744-5250 for your free consultation.
