When temperatures in Australia start to sizzle, there’s almost nothing more refreshing than a dip in a cool swimming pool.
Swimming pools can be your go-to pleasure place to beat the summer heat, but you must also keep an eagle eye on your kids when they’re in the water and restrict their unsupervised access to the pool area.
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According to the Royal Life Saving Australia’s https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/ report Household Chores The Number One Cause Of A Lapse Of Supervision In Child Drowning Deaths, 447 children who drowned in Australia over a 15-year period. This equates to 40% cases of unintentional fatal drowning among children aged 0 to 4 years.
Your Pool Safety Tips
Here are our top pool safety tips for parents to protect children around the pool
Learn Pool Rules, How To Swim & CPR
Set a good example and teach your kids the Top Pool Safety Rules
✅ No running near the pool
✅ No diving in shallow water
✅ No pushing people in or pulling them underwater
✅ No swimming without an adult supervision
Teach children to swim from an early age and to also learn CPR CardioPulmonary Resuscitation. CPR is a first aid technique for when someone is not breathing properly or if their heart has stopped. CPR is a skill that everyone can learn – you don’t need to be a health professional to do it.
90% of children in drowning incidents were given CPR immediately where early CPR contributes to greater survival rates and 4 x times as many positive health outcomes.
Be The “Hawk” Parent
Vigilance is where pool safety begins and where pool safety ends.
Blink once and your child could be drowning. Don’t allow distractions – especially your mobile phone or checking dinner – keep you from watching over your kids while they’re in the pool.
Especially, if your child is only just starting to learn how to swim, don’t allow your child out of arm’s reach. While water wings, life jackets and floaties are fun, don’t assume they protect your child more than you can. Be there to supervise them always.
A Clean Pool is a Safe Pool
A clean pool is a safe pool. And the key to keeping your pool clean comes from a steady pool maintenance plan. While keeping the pool clean sits at the top of the list for boring house chores, the satisfaction of luxuriating in crystal clear waters from the privacy of your own home on a sunshiny day is well worth it. As a health benefit, you should be able to enjoy the swim – without any other infections or tummy troubles. Teaching good hygiene to your kids keeps your pool safe and clean.
Restrict Pool Access with Secure Pool Fences, Barrier & Gates
A faulty gate hinge or latch, lack of pool fences allows those at most risk – being children aged 0-4 – to access and enter the pool area.
The AS1926.1 Australian Standard 1926.1 which you can read about >here requires every pool to be registered and follow safety standards for the safety of children and the community.
The best pool fence or barrier
- encloses the pool area
- is a child resistant and durable structure separating the residence from the pool
- has self–closing and self–latching gates to restrict children from accessing the area
If you need a pool fence builder to help with your pool fence, the pool safety questions to ask your pool builder are
Do you know the pool safety laws?
I’m in NSW: what standard do I comply to?
Do you know how to do the rectification works to meet the pool safety laws?
Happy Pool Safety
Disclaimer: PoolSS Checklists are a guide only, and does not constitute acknowledgment or approval of compliance or safety. If you check “No” to any of our questions, we recommend you Book An Inspection with a pool safety inspector to carry out an inspection confirming your pool is safe.
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? Pool Fences & Barriers
⛔ NCZ Non-Climbable Zone
? Pool Gate Latch
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