Children are usually eager for swimming and nothing could be better than a full-length swimming pool. While some people may go to clubs for swimming, there are many who have a large swimming pool at the back of their house. In either case, safety is important for children and adults. Keep in mind the following points to stay safe at the pool.
Tips for Safety at Swimming Pool
Keep a First Aid Kit Nearby
The first step to staying safe on any occasion is to make sure that you are covered for various emergencies. Although first aid kits are not the solution to every problem, they can be useful at times of need. In case someone has tried to jump in the pool but injured himself with the walls, there might be excessive blood flowing. The first aid kit has different types of bandages as well as iodine which could be used to clean up the injury.
First aid kits have supplies to treat different types of cuts, sprains, or other minor medical problems. If you don’t have a first aid kit, you are risking the infection to further aggravate and make the injury more severe.
Make Appropriate Markings
In case you have a swimming pool at your home, make appropriate markings on the poolside. Use a red color to indicate that beyond this point, the deep part of the pool will begin. This will caution everyone swimming inside the pool to stay behind this mark. Use red colored paint to make it highly visible.
This is particularly important for the safety of children because they have short heights. The potential drawback of not having such a marking for the pool would be that no one will have any idea of where the depth begins. If there are some newcomers, it would be a great concern for them as well.
Use Chlorine Regularly
For those who don’t know, chlorine is a strong chemical that is used to treat different types of bacteria and particularly used to clean out swimming pools. A swimming pool with chlorine kills germs and reduces the chances of getting any infection. However, one major mistake made by many people is that they only use chlorine at the start of the season and don’t clean their swimming pools regularly.
It won’t be an instant problem but soon you may face different types of issues. Therefore, we recommend using chlorine once every month or once every 15 days in case your pool is being used on a regular basis. You can also just add chlorine tablets to the pool after the swimming session has been completed. Try to filter out the pool a few hours after adding chlorine tablets because it will be more effective.
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Discourage Breathing Games
Many children play a game of holding their breaths longest inside the pool. Some children may go to all extremes just to win this game. They would keep their head inside the water even if they are unable to hold their breaths any longer. This is an alarming situation and may lead to cardiac arrest because the human body is not able to resist the lack of oxygen.
Strictly prohibit all such games because they come at major risk to life. Instead, come up with other types of games which can provide entertainment to the children. Give a couple of balls or just one big ball to them to play with. In every case, keep a keen eye that no such games are being played which involve the restriction of breath.
Use Nets
The major concern related to the safety inside the swimming pools is when it gets deep. A solution even better than having markings is to use a net inside the pool especially if the swimmers do not clearly know how to swim in deep water. There are different types of cloth-based nets that can be used from the top to the bottom of the pool.
Simply buy a net in the height-to-width dimensions of your swimming pool. Stretch it out and tie both ends to their respective walls. You may use big nails or hooks for tying them. A similar procedure has to be repeated on the bottom of the swimming pool. Once this is ready, there is no chance that anyone could even enter the deep area by mistake. This is a great idea especially when only kids are swimming in the pool. Even if you get distracted, you won’t have to worry much because there is no way they can access the deep part.
Use Swimming Equipment
One of the main mistakes made by many is that they don’t use the swimming equipment which mainly includes goggles, nose plugs, and earplugs. Goggles are necessary because the pools are usually having chlorine which may cause a burning sensation to the eyes. They will also protect your eyes from any other debris that has been in the pool.
The nose plugs and earplugs are equally important. Nose plugs prevent excessive amounts of chlorinated water from entering your nose while the earplugs protect the eardrums. Safety at the swimming pool is not only about the safety on-spot rather it includes safety after your swimming session as well. In case you don’t wear the safety equipment, you may develop medical issues later on.
Moreover, if a child is eager to go to the deep side, make sure that they have life jackets with them. Even with the life jackets, don’t leave the children unattended.
Install Alarms and Emergency Systems
Although not many people do that, using the alarms and emergency systems could be helpful in dealing with a crisis immediately. The alarms indicate an emergency situation while there are emergency systems which can immediately drain out all the water from the pool which helps in making sure that anyone inside the pool is not drowning. You can also install the cameras close to the pool so that every spot can be seen even when you aren’t there.
Using the three together is a perfect combination for safety inside the pool. In case your swimming pool is not used regularly, don’t install an alarm and emergency system. This is because they are generally quite expensive and may be just an extra burden on your pockets.
Prevent Dangerous Dives
If you dive in the shallow waters, you are risking yourself a major head or back injury. In case there is no one around to guide you, don’t try to dive in anyway. Although children are short-heighted, certain parts of the pool may be very shallow for them as well.
Make sure that you are following all the instructions of the lifeguard or any other available personnel because they are also talking about your safety.
Why is Independent Pool Safety Important?
It is said that “Prevention is better than cure” and rightly in the case of safety concerns associated with swimming pools. Generally, adults may not be at that high level of risk like children. If the children are taught independent safety, they would be able to resolve many situations before they worsen.
Take the case of a lifeguard and two people in a swimming pool. In case one person is drowning, the other person would be quick to react and reach that person before the lifeguard. In the case of children and swimming pools, there might be adults watching around but not everyone may know swimming or how to react in a swift manner. Therefore, the children inside the pool are the first ones to respond to any emergency.
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Conclusion
Staying safe requires a little bit of effort and vigilant checks on the people around you. It is important to ensure that the children as well as those who don’t know how to swim are wearing proper equipment as well as life jackets so that they are at a lower risk. Make sure you follow all the above-mentioned tips to avoid various possible issues related to swimming.