Summer is in full swing and many families spend time at the swimming pool. If you have a pool in your own backyard, you should take extra precautions if you have children or have children over to spend time with you during the summer. Today, I wanted to share with you some pool safety tips from Kaitlin Gardner, who enjoys sharing tips and writing articles in her free time.
Before heading to the pool, don’t forget the sunscreen.
I love watching my kids swimming in our backyard pool. It has been rewarding to watch them progress from toddlers learning the joys of splashing, to confident swimmers who are comfortable in the water. Safety has always been a focus for me. Here are 4 things I have done to keep my kids safe at the pool:
Always Be Watching
When the kids were toddlers, that rule meant that I held them the whole time they were in the water. Now that the kids are older, they can swim on their own, but I am still watching them the whole time. If I’m on “kid watch,” I am not visiting with other moms, fixing snacks, reading books, playing on my cell phone, or anything else. If I need to do something, I turn over the watch duty to my husband or another trusted adult.
Follow the Pool Rules
We started a focus on safety very early with our kids. We established rules for what we expected around the pool – the most obvious being “no running.” We explained that we weren’t just trying to limit their fun, but keep them safe. Now, if one of them gets excited and looks like he’s going to run, I just say “Jason,” in my Mom voice, and he will stay at a walking pace.
Having rules is fine, but if the kids just ignore them, those rules aren’t of much use. We have consequences for not following the rules. The first time, they get a verbal warning. The next time, they get to sit out of the pool for 10 minutes. If there was a third infraction – which hasn’t happened yet – we would make that child go inside the house for 30 minutes.
