With the summer season upon us you can never be too cautious around water or read too many articles on water safety. Most children love water and are like bugs to a zapper when it comes down to it. So vigilance is the watch word while your child is around enough water to drown in, which is less than an inch of water. This includes places you wouldn’t normally think of: puddle, bucket, bowl, and toilet.

What to be watchful of around the swimming pool:
1.) Watch your child at all times. For young children don’t be more than arms length away so you are readily available to grab them.
2.) Pool drains. The suction from a pool drain can be strong enough to hold an adult by the hair or body underwater let alone a child. Drain covers that are missing are usually the cause of this problem.
3.) Swimming pool water should have the proper chemical balance of chlorine. Too much chlorine can burn your child’s skin not enough and the water is ripe for bacteria and pollutants.
4.) Make sure your child walks and not runs around the edge of the pool. One slip is all it takes.
5.) Water wings or a life preserver is a must for young children that don’t know how to swim yet. Don’t rely solely on yourself to keep your child afloat. There is no such thing as too safe.
6.) If you have a pool in your backyard make sure it’s enclosed with a fence that is at least four feet high and has a lock on the gate. Make sure that unless you’re in the pool with your child that it remains locked.
7.) If you have a little plastic wading pool, make sure to drain it and store it in an upright position after each use. Never leave the water in it unattended or overnight. The water isn’t chemically treated and could grow bacteria.
8.) Always carry a cell phone with you to the pool just in case of emergencies.

If the unthinkable happens and your child goes under for longer than a moment, here are the steps you’ll need to take calmly and quickly:

1.) Pull your child out of the water
2.) Carry the child with their head lower than their chest
3.) Wrap the child in a warm dry towel or blanket
4.) Call 911 or take your child to the nearest emergency room (even if the child appears okay they could have water in their lungs which could cause lung damage and pneumonia)
5.) If the child is unconscious, check for breathing and a pulse — if not breathing start CPR while someone else dials 911.

The rule of thumb around the water is: Never leave your child unattended.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 10:17 pm and is filed under Pets, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.