Using the Pool Safely
Safety Savvy
If you learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), you could save your child's life. Many children have been revived because an adult was able to begin CPR immediately, rather than have to wait for the arrival of emergency personnel. Baby-sitters, grandparents, and older siblings who supervise your child should learn it, too.
Up to now we've talked about protecting your kids when you aren't using the pool. But kids can drown while adults are pool-side, too. If you're having a social gathering, ask an adult to be the designated pool watcher, giving full attention to the task. Rotate the duty.
Here are some more pool rules:
- If you have a pool cover, remove it completely before using the pool. A partially covered pool can trap a child.
- Don't leave chairs or tables near fences that a small child could stand on to climb over.
- Remove toys from pools so kids won't be tempted to reach in to retrieve them.
- Don't allow tricycles or wagons in the pool area.
Keep rescue equipment by the pool: a life pre-server, rope, shepherd's crook, and a phone for calling rescue personnel if necessary. If there is an emergency, yell for help, then start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If there's no one else present who can call 911, perform CPR for one minute, then quickly call 911, and then resume CPR.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that even if your child acts normal after being revived, she should still be seen by her doctor right away.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Child Safety © 2000 by Miriam Bacher Settle, Ph.D., and Susan Crites Price. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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