• Install a fence at least four-feet high around all four sides of the pool. The fence should not have openings or protrusions that a young child could use to get over, under, or through. Families may consider pool alarms and rigid pool covers as additional layers of protection, but neither can take the place of a fence.
• Make sure pool gates open out from the pool, and self-close and self-latch at a height children can't reach.
• Never leave children alone (or in the care of another young child) in or near the pool, even for a moment.
• Keep rescue equipment (a shepherd's hook - a long pole with a hook on the end - and life preserver) and a portable telephone near the pool. Choose a shepherd's hook and other rescue equipment made of fiberglass or other materials that do not conduct electricity.
• Avoid inflatable swimming aids such as "floaties." They are not a substitute for approved life vests and can give children a false sense of security.
• Children need to learn to swim. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports swimming lessons for most children 4 years and older. Some evidence shows that children ages 1 to 4 may be less likely to drown if they have had formal swimming instruction. The studies are small, and they don’t define what type of lessons work best, so the AAP is not recommending mandatory swim lessons for all children ages 1 to 4 at this time. Instead, the new guidance recommends that parents should decide whether to enroll an individual child in swim lessons based on the child’s frequency of exposure to water, emotional development, physical abilities, and certain health concerns related to pool water infections and pool chemicals.
• Parents, caregivers and pool owners should learn CPR.
• With infants, toddlers and weak swimmers, an adult should be within an arm’s length. With older children and better swimmers, an adult should be focused on the child and not distracted by other activities.

You may also be interested in...

• Water safety and your toddler
• Tragically, every year many children drown or suffer permanent brain damage in pools and from capsized boats.
• more

• Bath safety and your toddler
• In the hustle and bustle of every day life it is easy to forget that accidents can happen during bath time. Here are several ways you can make bath time safe for your toddler.
• more