You may have packed away the beach towels and bathing suits, but where’s the pool or hot tub? Still out in the yard. Harvey Barnett, founder of Infant Swimming Resource, says parents need to make their kids’ water safety a priority, even during colder seasons. He has a few tips to help keep children safe around water in the months ahead. These tips apply to all water areas including pools, hot tubs, retention ponds, ditches and flooded areas.
Supervise! This is the most important defense. Never turn your back on your child around water. It takes just minutes for him or her to be in serious trouble.
Covers aren’t enough. Well-meaning parents may think a cover on the hot tub or pool is enough. But the lid on the drink needs to be secured – year-round – with pool alarms and alarms on doorways that access outdoor water areas, fencing with a self-
latching gate, and door and window locks that are out of a child’s reach.
Check again. Double check to make sure locks and pool security devices work. Safety gates are deterrents but not a sole defense. Did you know the average 3-year- old can climb a pool fence in 34 seconds?
Educate others. Nannies, grandparents, neighbors and care givers should know year-
round water-safety tips and have appropriately installed security devices where they are needed.
Put the toys away.
Toys are tempting; never leave them outside around water areas.
Keep a phone by the pool. To be used for emergencies only.
Teach self-rescue skills. Your baby needs self-rescue skills should she fall – or jump – unnoticed into a body of water. Infant Swimming Resource instructors can teach developmentally appropriate and proven water self-rescue skills to babies and toddlers as part of a comprehensive water-safety plan.
Infant Safety Rescue has trained more than 160,000 children, delivered more than 6 million lessons and has more than 784 documented cases of a child’s self-rescue using ISR techniques. For information, visit .
