Swimming season is here. The days are getting longer and the sun is getting stronger. Depending on where you live, this means that it is nearly time to unpack those swimsuits. Here is some advice for preparing to take a dip.
Active Supervision Requires Focus
For any parent with young children, the safety of the kids comes first. When preparing for swimming season, this is a great place to start. Before anyone even thinks about heading out to the water, it is time to talk about active supervision.
Put simply, kids often get into trouble when parents least expect the danger. In fact, far too many kids fall into drowning danger while an adult was nearby. This is where active supervision comes in handy. Active supervision is not simply the act of keeping an adult near the water. Instead, it is something that should be treated as a sacred duty.
Phones, books, drinking and more can easily distract an active supervisor. When watching kids in the water, this should be the only thing that the adult is focused upon.
Basics of Active Supervision
Those who are actively supervising children in the pool should:
- stay off the phone.
- be a strong swimmer.
- not drink alcohol.
- be close to the pool.
- limit conversations with other guests to avoid distraction.
- enforce the pool rules.
- watch all children diligently.
- be ready to enter the pool at any time.
- For children aged 0-5, the active supervisor needs to be in the pool with the children and remain within arms reach at all times.
Believe it or not, drowning happens faster than most people realize. For this reason, we all should learn to recognize when a person is drowning or struggling in the water.
While preparing for swimming season, one last point about active supervision that adults should keep in mind is to plan on switching off at regular intervals. This way, no one needs to be stuck on watchdog duty all day.
To learn more, read our dedicated blog post about active supervision.
Preparing for Swimming Season with Lessons
No matter how old or young a person may be, preparing for swimming season starts with, well, learning how to swim. Far too many Americans are woefully unprepared for the water.
On a more positive note, there is always hope! It is never too late to learn to swim. Enrolling in swimming lessons will greatly reduce the risk of drowning for both children and adults. If you enroll as a family, it can also double as a great bonding activity.
The best part is that swimming lessons are available all year round. While being prepared is better done well ahead of the summer, it’s still a perfect time to get some proper training.
Install a Pool Fence and Multiple Layers of Protection Before Swimming Season
And beyond lessons and other advice, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the pool fence. As you can tell from our name, we’re pretty big fans of these powerful barriers. A properly installed pool fence is the cornerstone of a safe pool area. It should be tall enough to prevent anyone from climbing over.
Additionally, it should be strong enough so that kids and dogs can’t simply knock it over. Fortunately, we know a thing or two about pool fences. Read our dedicated blog posts about what to look for in a pool fence.
Beyond that, don’t simply rely on a single layer of protection. Consider adding alarms, self-latching gates, window and door locks and more to your yard. When preparing for swimming season, the more layers of protection you add, the safer your pool area will become.
