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Kids playing in the swimming pool?

Safety expert says stop texting and start watching

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10 Summer Pool Safety Tips

As you listen to the sound of children laughing and splashing in your backyard pool, a leading expert in pool safety asks you to keep this in mind:

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), drowning is the #1 cause of death for children under five — and it usually happens without warning and without a sound.

You would never put your baby in a car without a car seat or seat belt, and you would never leave a firearm out where your child is playing. But for many parents, pool safety is seen as an optional luxury, despite the pool being statistically more dangerous than both the gun and cars combined, says swimming pool safety consultant Eric Lupton.

Lupton says that no child is drown proof, and even the best parents have suffered tragedies.

Seventy-seven percent of drownings occur less than five minutes after the child was last seen often in his room, sleeping, says Lufton. The one positive light is that toddler drownings are almost completely preventable when multiple layers of protection are implemented.

These are 10 KEY LAYERS OF PROTECTION FOR POOL SAFETY that Lufton wants every parent to know about: and implement immediately, if not sooner:

Installing a see-through mesh pool fence is the first step in childproofing the most dangerous part of the house, the backyard swimming pool.

Make sure that your pool service treats the fence with respect and completely closes it when they leave,

Keep lawn furniture that can be climbed on away from the pool fence

Install a pool alarm that sounds when something falls into the pool

Install high locks and alarms on doors and windows leading to the pool

Those with above ground pools should put ladders away when adults are not present to prevent children from gaining access to the water.

Teach all children to swim and how-to self-rescue, starting as early as 6 months old

When anyone is swimming, appoint a designated water watcher whose sole responsibility is watching the pool no phone, no socializing, nothing but watching the pool. Water watchers should work in shifts of no longer than 15 minutes. Even trained lifeguards have a hard time mai

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