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 maintaining focus longer than that.
Life jackets, not floaties, should be worn by weak swimmers and non-swimmer and a Safety Turtle alarm should be placed on the arms of young children.
Parents and others supervising pool sessions should get trained in CPR.
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How do most backyard pool drownings occur?
2. Is it true that for most drownings there is no cry for help?
3. You refer to drowning as an epidemic, yet it isn’t being widely reported. Why don’t we hear more about it?
4. Pool fencing is at the top of your list as a means to keep kids out of the pool when proper supervision isn’t available. You recommend a see-through mesh safety fence. Tell us about it and how it works.
5. A variety of alarms are available to alert parents when kids or animals are in the pool or trying to gain access to it. Tell us how they work.
6. What can parents do on an immediate basis to increase pool safety and reduce the risk of child drownings?
7. On your website, you’re offering a free comprehensive pool safety guide. How do listeners get it?
Listen to the Interview via Talkshoe
ABOUT ERIC LUPTON
Eric Lupton is the President of Life Saver Pool Fence System, Inc., Child Safety Store, Inc., and L-Squared Technologies, LLC. He served as Vice President while on the Board of Directors for the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. He has been featured as a marketing expert in two New York Times Best Sellers, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and Forbes and is highly sought after and interviewed by the media as an expert on pool safety, child safety, marketing, and business leadership. Eric lives with cerebral palsy, requiring him to use a power wheelchair. He’s a native of Boynton Beach, FL and loves Doctor Who, TED Talks, and everything dairy