How to Make a Swimming Pool Safe

Having a backyard swimming pool has its definite advantages, but when you have young children, it's a certain danger unless you make safety your primary concern. More than 2,000 kids under five are injured annually in the U.S. from pool accidents and another 300 die annually. Avoid tragedy by taking all the necessary safety precautions listed below.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fencing
• Pool cover
• Door alarm
• Outdoor phone
• Lifesaving equipment
• CPR instructions
• First aid kit

1. Supervise your young child at all times when she's around the pool or even in the backyard.

2. Build a tall fence with vertical bars around the entire pool. Fence bar openings should be four inches wide or less, and make sure the fence is self-closing and self-locking.

3. Cover your pool with a safety pool cover, such as a nonpenetrating cover that entirely blocks access to the pool. Ask your local pool supplier for the safest cover recommendations.

4. Make sure you place door alarms on every door in your home, so you can hear when your child exits the house. Also consider placing alarms on the pool gate for further safety.

5. Install a telephone near the pool or have a cordless close by so you can call 911 if necessary.

6. Learn CPR and have everyone in the household, including babysitters, grandparents and anyone who spends time with your child in or around the pool do the same.

7. Keep lifesaving equipment by the pool at all times. Items such as poles, ropes and flotation devices must be kept at the poolside.

Tips & Warnings

• Teach your children how to swim or enroll them in a swimming class.
• Put a rope line in the pool to divide the shallow from the deep end. Be sure you have a life ring and shepard's hook nearby.
• Keep a first aid kit in your pool's vicinity. Post CPR instructions and emergency contact information where everyone knows its location.
• Don't leave yard or pool furniture near the outer side of the fence, so your child can climb over the fence to access the pool.
• Never trust the safety of inflatable toys, rafts or rings to save your child from drowning. Such devices aren't equipped to save lives.
• Never leave the pool cover partially closed. The cover should always be on, then completely removed just prior to pool use.