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Rules to
Protect Small Children
From Drowning
in Family Pool
The
grim, tragic news begins to be heard every year
as soon as the swimming season begins. A young
child drowns in a family swimming pool, a pool
with no alert system, such as a Pool Protector,
or other safety devices available on the market.
Drowning
usually occurs quickly and silently and can
happen in a matter of seconds. It typically
occurs when a child is left unattended or during
a brief lapse in supervision. Often a curious
tot will simply plunge or fall into a pool with
no safety device such as Pool Protector that
would sound an alarm when a small child or pet
falls into a pool.
According to
the U.S. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), drowning is the second leading
cause of unintentional injury-related death for
children between the ages of one and 14 in the
U.S.
The loss itself
is horrific enough, but beyond that, the burden
of carrying a load of guilt, whether merited or
not, can last for a lifetime.
Tragically,
even near-drowning incidents can have horrible
consequences. As many as 20 percent of
near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent
neurological disability, according to Safe Kids
U.S.A.
This does not
have to happen and should never happen. There
are too many safeguards out there and too many
warnings to parents about the responsibilities
that go with owning a pool, safeguards such as
Pool Protector and the numerous other
inexpensive devices available.
Some of these
sad stories unfold at the homes of family
members, friends and neighbors. Imagine the
aftermath of such a happening and how difficult
it is to cope after the loss of a young child
who was visiting your home.
There are
warnings issued every year from numerous sources
to warn pool owners about the responsibilities
they have. Some of the safety suggestions
proposed from the CDC include:
*Totally
closed-in, four sided screens or other barriers,
at least four-feet high, with latches out of
reach of children, can be an effective
deterrent.
*Remove all
floats, balls and toys from pool and surrounding
area after use; it has been shown that the
presence of these toys tempt children to somehow
get into the pool area and lean over the pool,
potentially falling in.
*When young
children are in the pool an adult should always
be present and never lose site of his or her
responsibility. Accidents can occur in
seconds.
*Use life
jackets on tots who can’t swim rather than water
wings, noodles or inner tubes. Such toys are
not designed to keep children safe.
*Consider
alarms to notify you if someone enters the pool
area.
To that last
point, an item that has become common in family
pools is the Pool Protector, mentioned
earlier. It is a small, light-weight, portable
device that attaches to the pool. If the pool
is left unsupervised for a moment or so, at
least the device will instantly warn you of a
drowning danger.
Whether or not
you have small children of your own, if
grandchildren or children of friends, associates
or neighbors visit and potentially use the pool,
you should strongly consider installing Pool
Protector and one or more of the other safety
devices recommended above for long-term peace of
mind.
Preventing
child deaths from drowning in swimming pools
requires constant vigilance. We can all
determine that we will not let this happen at
our home and take the necessary steps to prevent
it.
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