If you have a swimming pool at your home, it’s important that you take steps to help ensure the safety of your family and guests. The fact is that approximately 10 people drown in the U.S. every day – and slip and fall injuries around pools are also common. The following safety tips can help to protect everyone who uses your pool, while also reducing your risk of having a lawsuit filed against you should a guest be injured.
Supervision – Having someone supervise swimmers (especially children) is the best way to help prevent accidents and injuries. If you are hosting guests and are unable to supervise the swimmers yourself, ask someone you trust to keep an eye out. It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on adults who are intoxicated.
Swimming Lessons – If you own a pool, it’s vital that everyone in your household knows how to swim. Children should be taught to swim after they turn four years old.
Learn CPR – You never want to think that someone could drown in your pool, but if the unthinkable happens you can save a life if you know to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Ideally, everyone in your household should learn CPR (including children as young as 9 years old). It’s easy to learn – and you can even take CPR courses online.
Establish Rules – It’s important to have rules for activities in and around your pool (especially for kids). Set some rules and make sure they are followed. Explain to children why it’s dangerous to run around the pool (slip and fall injuries) and that dunking their friends is not funny and can actually be dangerous.
Safety Equipment – Consider buying equipment to improve safety, including a fence around the pool, a gate alarm, a pool alarm and a safety cover that fits over the pool when it’s not in use.
