11 Tips for Backyard Pool Safety

If you’re fortunate enough to have a backyard pool it can provide hours of fun for the whole family. By putting a few rules in place, you can keep family and friends safe while enjoying all the fun the pool has to offer. Welcome your visitors, but make sure they know and follow the rules too. As the host, it’s up to you to ensure the safety of everyone. Enforce the rules, but also make sure you follow them as well!

Even if kids can swim, accidents can happen. While there are many ways to make your swimming pool safe, there is no substitute for adult supervision!

Wet feet can easily slip when running and cause injury.

Enter the water feet first. Dive only off a diving board into deep water, diving into shallow water could cause head or neck injuries.

No rough games involving dunking, holding your breath for any extended period, or lifting and throwing others into the air.

Beverage glasses can easily break on the pool deck or pool walls. Instead use outdoor-friendly options like acrylic tumblers or paper, plastic, or foam cups, or drink from a can.

Alcohol and some medications can impair your ability to swim and affect other motor skills, as well as breathing and orientation. Limit alcoholic beverages so you’re alert and can not only keep yourself safe, but also be able to attend to others if an accident happens.

Children can silently slip beneath the surface and drown in seconds the time it takes to post on Instagram. You don’t need to leave your phone at home in fact, you should keep it fully charged and within reach so you can call for help in case of an emergency.

Knowing even basic CPR and acting immediately instead of waiting for emergency responders can make the difference between life and death in drowning cases or anytime a person’s heart stops. Additionally, make sure you have proper life saving tools (life ring, rescue tube or life hook), a first aid kit and a phone nearby should they be needed in an emergency.

Install a fence that separates the pool area from the house and yard and self-closing and self-latching gates. Additionally, use an alarm on the house door that leads to the pool area, a floating pool alarm or a below-water alarm to alert you about people out by the pool, possibly unsupervised.

Don’t leave pool toys in the water. Curious children can easily fall into the water while trying to retrieve a toy.