Community Corner

Safety Tips for the Pool Season

American Academy of Pediatrics Offers Advice

It's a terrifying fact, but the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection cites drowning as the leading cause of accidental death for children under 5  years old and one of the top causes of injury-related death in all children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers these safety tips:

  • Never leave your children alone in — or near — the pool, even for a moment. An adult who knows CPR should actively supervise children at all times.
  • Practice touch supervision with children younger than 5 years. This means that the adult is within an arm's length of the child at all times.
  • You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children's reach.
  • Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd's hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.
  • Do not use air-filled "swimming aids" as a substitute for approved life vests.
  • Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren't tempted to reach for them.
  • After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can't get back into it.

Here are some links to other sources of water safety advice:

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