How do you keep your children safe around pools?

Jenny Shepard, full-time working mom of three boys, writes:

FACTS according to poolcenter.com:

• Drowning is the second highest cause of unintentional death among children, behind car accidents.
• Most drownings happen in home pools.
• As for the number of children who die from accidental drowning, there are over 800 recorded each year.
• On average there are 4,000 injuries related to near drowning incidents.

We are all about water safety in this family! This falls into two categories for me: swimming and pool safety.

I grew up swimming in our backyard pool with a high school swim coach for a mom. We have tried to "submerge" the boys with lots of water time to help avoid fear of the water or fear of swimming. We have been fortunate to have my mom and my sister (a lifeguard) available to come and help do mini "lessons" with the boys. We have spent the past three summers with a pool, which has really helped make two of our three boys not only comfortable in the pool, but stronger swimmers (the third is still a bit too young).

Swimming lessons are available all over the place but I’d like to give two programs a special shout out as I’ve witnessed how well they work: Head Above Water and if you want access to a nice pool for the summer, Gerrish in Pasadena is a great private club that has both swim lessons and a swim team.

Pool safety became top of mind last year when we bought a house with a pool and no fence around it. We chose a 4-foot tall mesh fence that goes around the perimeter and will help to keep the kids safe. I also have friends who opted for the pool net that covers the pool completely. I think they are both safety features but the onus really is on the parents to keep kids safe from the pool, both when they are present and not present.

A friend from college has a nephew who fell into the pool when his father was in the restroom. The child walked out of the house, into the backyard, into the pool area where the gate had been left ajar by the gardener. He was close to two years old and suffered such brain damage that developmentally he will be essentially a one-year-old for the rest of his life. This incident has made me vigilant about pool safety. Our pool gate has a latch so that if it’s open you can see that it is wide open from inside the house, not discreetly ajar.

My guess is we have another two years until we are a truly pool safe family and everyone can swim the length of the pool with ease. Then the mesh fence can come down. I still need to brush up on my CPR skills, as it’s been six years and could really be useful if an accident or near-accident was to happen.

Faith Mellinger, local business owner and mother of two boys (plus one on the way!) writes:

Our pool had one of those removable fences around it when we moved in. The day we found out we were having a baby, plans for a 7-foot permanent fence around the pool area went into place. Being married to a firefighter, we are all too aware of the dangers of having a pool around with the kids.

With hot weather just around the corner, our boys just started swim lessons at the YMCA so that they can be comfortable and aware of the pool once we open it up. Neither of them really knows how to swim yet, but I want them to understand what happens when they go into the water. Since they both have June birthdays, we've invited friends over for swim parties. With so many little ones around, we hire a life guard every time just to watch for little (and big) feet wandering by the pool. It's the best party expense we ever paid!

We have a permanent pool and are well aware of its dangers. We make sure the gates are locked every day and teach our kids not to go by the pool without an adult who can swim. I worry about the kiddie pools put up in the summer though; it only takes an inch of water for a kid to drown and those are too often left unattended.

Jaime Townzen, Monrovia Mom and stay-at-home mom to two preschool daughters, writes:

I grew up swimming. For a short time I lived on a lake in Minnesota, I joined swim team in first grade, and by 16-years-old, through college, I spent my summers lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons. Most of my life one or both of my parents had a pool and spa in the backyard. To me, swimming is a year round sport, and one that everyone can enjoy. But I also take it very seriously, like my fellow Monrovian Mom Experts do.

Jenny’s stats are correct, and that reality is how the pool where I lifeguarded opened every new swim lesson session. So, whether or not my kids ever love the water as much as I have, my number one goal is their safety.

First, no one (not even adults) goes swimming by themselves. Another adult must always be present and (especially with children as young as my own) in the water before any child gets in. The lessons we have taken at the Duarte and Sierra Madre community pools, as well as at the Y, all follow this philosophy, so I’m glad it’s consistently being followed through with my children no matter where they swim.

Second, once swimming is over, all pool access is closed to children. This may seem over-cautious, and I’m not suggesting that you can’t enjoy a poolside picnic as a family, but I do mean that if adults go inside the house for any reason, so must the children (or in whatever system exists, they should be completely unable to access the water).

My children don’t particularly like this because we have a small yard with a blow-up pool. They have a hard time understanding why as soon as swimming is done I deflate the pool and drain the water completely. I know it is a waste of water that could be swam in again the next day, but I just don’t want to take any chances; it’s simply not worth it to me to walk in the back yard and find a dead animal, or heaven forbid, lose a child because I didn’t drain the pool one night.

Finally, all children, even those who are afraid of the water, must take swim lessons and learn to swim/float/hold their head above water along with pool safety each summer until they prove they are competent enough to get to the side and out of the pool unassisted. Accidents happen, but this is an area I will do whatever I can to prevent them from happening while I teach my kids to enjoy and respect the water.