Backyard Pool Safety
I debated a long time before considering allowing our family to have even a small wading pool in our yard. I researched what safety measures were available and these are some of the best I came up with. I hope they help your family too.
Float Censors ~
A float censor is a device that sits on top of the water in your pool. When no one is in the pool, and the water is calm and flat, the censor just floats on top quietly. As soon as someone jumps into the pool or falls into the pool, the waves that they make in the water causes the float censor to begin rocking. That rocking motion causes it to then set off an audible alarm, similar to a smoke detector. This audible alarm can be heard inside your home, (it’s very loud), to alert people in the house that they need to rush out and possibly intervene.
Fence ~
Fencing is the most obvious, yet the most often overlooked, safety measure for a backyard pool. While a fence won’t keep everyone out of the pool area it will make it difficult for smaller children to wander in accidentally. With a high fence around your backyard pool you can be assured that only people making a deliberate effort to get over the fence will do so. When you install your fence make sure that it includes a sturdy gate that you can lock when the pool is unattended.
Visual Barrier ~
A visual barrier is something that doesn’t physically stop people from passing through and yet emotionally encourages them not to go through. You can plant a row of hedging or bushes around your pool or around the fence the surrounds your pool, to discourage people from crossing into that area. Even though most people and animals could get through a hedge if they wanted to, most of them won’t. Our instinct is to walk around that sort of an object. So just by plant something between where the people and animals should be and where they should not be, and then most people and most animals will not cross that visual barrier.
Train Your Children ~
The most important measure that you can take towards having a safe backyard pool area is to make sure that all your family members, especially your children, understand the dangers associated with swimming alone or playing in the pool area alone. Your children need to have a healthy respect for the water, and if necessary a healthy fear of being around water alone. If you have very small children it’s better to have them back away from the water because they don’t want go in alone than to have them be so curious that they’ll wander out when no one is around.
Sooner or later gates get left open or broken, and the way to the pool will be clear. It’s important that your children do not have any desire to cross into the pool area alone. You can begin to train your children never to swim alone and never to play around water alone, even before you install your own backyard pool. Make sure your very small children know they are never to enter a bathtub, a public pool, a neighbor’s pool, or a lake or river near your home with our having a grownup present.
Cover ~
If you live in an area where it is not comfortable to swim year round, you will probably be draining your pool at some point for the off season. Keep in mind that even when there is no water in the pool it is still a hazard. From the height of the pool deck to the pool bottom is far enough to badly injure a person if they were to fall into the pool while it was empty. Anytime your pool is drained for the cleaning or repairs, or just for the off -season, it’s absolutely necessary to cover your pool. Typically the company that installs your pool will provide you with a matching cover as part as your pool installation package. If yours did not, or if it has been lost and damaged since, return to the center or company that installed your pool and ask for a replacement.
SAFETY NOTE : NEVER SWIM ALONE.
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