At Life Saver, we’re obviously big fans of pool fences. The truth is, installing a pool fence could be the most important decision you ever make for your family’s safety. In today’s blog, we’ll examine all the benefits of installing a pool fence.

You Never Know When Disaster Will Strike

Did you realize that drowning is the number one accidental killer of children under five? It’s terrifying, but true. In 69 percent of fatal drowning incidents, one or both parents, were supervising their child. When children are pulled from the water during drowning incidents, two-thirds of the time they are wearing regular clothes rather than a swimsuit. This means that their parents never expected them to be near the water. In 77 percent of fatal drowning incidents, the child was last seen less than five minutes before being discovered in the pool.

Check the Pool First: Searching for a Missing Child

A major realization parents need to come to is that, inevitably, even the most vigilant supervision can fail. While active supervision is critical for water safety, everyone needs a helping hand. Parents shouldn’t depend exclusively on their ability to monitor children when it comes to pool safety.

In addition to keeping a close, attentive eye on the kids, you should set up extra precautions that will protect your child. The most effective secondary barrier is an “isolation” fence, which surrounds your pool area and separates it from the rest of the backyard.

For pool fences to be effective, they must:

  • Provide a barrier between your back door and the pool area. 
    • You’ll want to be absolutely sure that your child can’t approach the pool unsupervised, even if the door is accidentally left ajar. That’s the power of pool fences.
  • Have a self-closing gate that latches automatically.
    • The gate should never be propped open, and the latch should be out of reach of children.
  • Be 48 inches tall with slats no more than four inches apart. 
    • This prevents young children from climbing over or through the fence.

Life Saver’s pool fences go hand-in-hand with other safety measures to supplement parent supervision, as prescribed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

No Holes Pool Fence

These measures include:

  1. High locks on all doors and windows leading to the pool.
  2. Alarms on the doors and windows that access the pool.
  3. An alarm inside the pool, and an extra alarm, like Safety Turtle, that is worn on the child.
  4. Swimming lessons as early as you and your pediatrician feel comfortable. Infant swim instructors start training babies to roll over and float earlier than you might think.
  5. CPR training for you and your family. Administering CPR while paramedics are on the way can literally mean the difference between life and death.
  6. A pool safety fence that isolates the pool from the home, as described above.

As you can see, pool fences comprise a critical layer of defense for your family’s safety. The idea is to keep your home as safe as possible. After all, every layer of protection added will significantly reduce the chance of an accidental drowning incident. A pool fence offers tremendous peace-of-mind for parents. If you own a swimming pool, make sure you’re protecting it.