Home insurance resources
Protect your family with these pool safety tips
Supervision is key word when it comes to pool safety. But it's not the only line of defense against a swimmer being hurt in the pool. Encourage your neighbors, family, friends and baby-sitters to follow these swimming and pool safety tips.
Keep the pool off-limits unless adults are available to supervise. Be sure to include:
- High locks on the access doors to the pool area.
- Alarms on the access doors.
- A locked fence separating the pool from your home and other yards.
- Water-survival training for children as soon as they are capable of crawling or walking to the pool.
Be sure to follow these pool safety tips, too:
- Do not allow children to swim without supervision.
- Do not place anything near the fence that can be used to climb over the fence.
- Make sure the house doors do not open directly into the pool area. There should be a second self-locking gate installed prior to entering the direct pool area.
- Store chemicals in a hard-to-reach area so they cannot be accessed or knocked over by children.
Pool safety equipment recommendations
- Non-climbable, self-locking fence that completely encloses the pool
- Gates should have a childproof locking mechanism
- Door alarms on all doors reachable by small children
- Security cameras
- Pool safety covers that do not retain water on the top side
- Rescue equipment in the pool area
- Secure drain covers and automatic drain suction shut-off devices
- Nonskid surfaces on diving boards and immediate area surrounding
Swimming safety facts
- Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. In 2009, among children who died from an unintentional injury, more than 30% died from drowning.1
- Drowning in private pools is also the 2nd leading cause of death in teenagers.
- For every drowning, there are 11 near-drowning incidents, many of which result in disabling brain damage.
- 69% of drowning incidents occurred when parental supervision was absent and the pool was easily accessible. Supervision is always the primary layer of protection.
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. [cited 2012 May 3]. Available from: URL: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars.