The best and most inexpensive way to have fun on a hot summer day is to take the family to the nearest public pool. It costs very little and the whole family can have tons of fun. However, while having fun, always remember to stay safe. After all, accidents can happen in a matter of seconds but they can be prevented altogether by following these safety tips.
Never leave your child alone unless they are being watched by another trusted adult such as a relative or their swimming teacher. Left unsupervised, your child could very easily have an accident.
Make sure to never swim alone. Definitely children should never be left alone in the pool to swim, but adults shouldn’t swim alone either. No matter how well they can swim, there is always a chance that they might get a leg cramp or something that could cause them to have trouble staying afloat. Keep this tip in mind if you or someone you love has a special condition such as diabetes, that could disable someone’s swimming ability very quickly.
Always be prepared for any type of emergency. The best way to do this is by taking life saving classes at the local Y. They will teach you how to administer CPR and other different types of first aid. Once you have learned these skills, make sure you keep a first aid kit nearby, even for the littlest scrape. Also keep important papers, such as notification that you have a special condition or the number of your doctor handy.
Every pool has rules posted that are supposed to be followed by everyone. Make sure you follow these rules and that your children do the same. By following even the simplest rules, you can prevent accidents from occurring. Plus, by following the rules, you can be sure that you won’t be kicked out or banned from the pool.
If you have a pool in your back yard, make sure you keep a fence with a locked gate around the pool. Make sure the locks are child proof. You might want to post some rules of your own by your pool. Also, make sure to keep flotation devices such as ring buoys handy in case of an emergency. If your pool is an above ground pool, raise the steps after everyone is done swimming and lock them into place so that little children can’t find their way back into the pool.
Before you do that swan dive off the high board to impress that pretty girl or handsome guy, make sure you know how deep the water is where you are diving. The water should at least be nine feet deep. Make sure there is no one swimming underneath the diving board before you jump off. My mother knew a boy that dove into the water while someone was swimming under the board. He hit the person and while the other person was okay, he ended up with a broken neck and was paralyzed for the rest of his life.
Instead of letting your children swim in the deep end of the pool using only an inflatable toy or armbands, try life jackets instead. This may seem a little over the top but inflatable toys can make the child overconfident, they could slide out from in between the flotation device and drown. I had one of those rubber duckie floaties and decided to swim over to my father who was teaching my sister how to jump into the pool. I wanted to impress him and get his attention. I thought if I could kick my legs and swim with the floatie, I could do it without it. I ended up almost drowning. My mother, who was sitting by the pool reading, looked up to check on me, saw that I was missing and then saw my head bob up and then down. She yelled to my father, who swam over and got me. After that, I was relegated to the kiddie pool.
Which brings me to my next point. Everyone should learn how to swim. It’s not only fun and good exercise, but you never know when you may actually need to know how to swim. Proper research on the internet should be done for selection of the swimming classes. It will provide the results as swimming class here to the interested person.
