Asides being a great form of exercise and a favorite activity of many during summer, swimming is an activity that many enjoy. The joy and benefits that are gotten from swimming, however, do not need to be the exclusive reserve of adults; toddlers can also benefit from these.

Toddlers’ swimming is, however, a fun yet dangerous activity, which if care is not taken, could lead to death. In support of this assertion, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 1 in 5 victims of drowning incidents are children. It is a popular belief that every one of these deaths is avoidable.

To make your pool toddler-friendly and to protect your toddlers from unwanted pool incidents, here are tips that can help:

Teach your kids to swim

Since toddlers will be in the pool to swim, it is wise that they know how to do this. Because it is never too early or late to learn how to swim, you do not need to think that your baby is too young.

Get them registered with an appropriate training body, or at an appropriate training center or employ a trainer to teach them these.

While children of any age can learn to swim, children aged 1 to 4 needs to be first assessed for their readiness. If after their evaluation they are found to be ready, they can proceed with the teachings.

Erect a pool fence

If you would rather not have them in the water at all or at certain times, then look into having this barrier built. The pool gate should have the following characteristics:

• It should be around 1 foot of the pool,
• It should open away from the pool,
• It should be self-closing and self-latching. This helps ensure that your toddler is not able to able this themselves.
• It should be as tall as possible and without climbing support. This is to deter your child from moving objects to it in an attempt to scale it.

If you have an above the ground pool, build a fence around the steps that lead to it.

Let go of the diving board and slides

Diving board and slides are great additions to the swimming when adults are swimming. They could, however, pose harm for young children who might either get injured on these boards or want to use these slides and boards to dive into the pool as they see adults do.

Remove all slip hazards

Slip hazards are items lying haphazardly around the pool that could cause toddlers to trip and fall into the water. These include toys, floats, and others. Always ensure that the pool area is always free of these.

Use personal floatation devices (PFDs)

Personal floatation devices keep your child afloat better than any inflatable toy can. Every time your toddler is in the water, especially when still learning to swim, ensure they have this on.

Keep your pool maintained

Pool maintenance is a service that should neither be joked with nor indiscriminately postponed. Check the tiles to ensure they are in good condition. Also, check the drains to ensure they are in good condition.

You could also have an anti-entrapment cover fitted for your drain. These checks and maintenance need to be done, as broken tiles could harm your kids and exposed drains could be strong enough to trap them.

Have alarms installed

Some alarms could alert you whenever pool gates are opened. There are also underwater pool alarms that make use of motion sensors to detect wave activity.

This detection makes them alert you whenever anyone, toddler or not, jump into the pool. These alarms are usually very loud so you do not need to worry about not hearing them; if you don’t, your neighbors will.

Learn infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

While CPR is not a piece of physical equipment that you could have fitted to your pool to make it toddler-friendly, it is a training adult should have. Despite all the checks put in place to stop toddlers from getting into the water, one act of carelessness and/or overzealousness by the toddler can find them in the pool, drowning.

This training could, however, help you save your toddler, or any toddler, who fell into the water. Every second between when your toddler fell into the water, starts drowning, and emergency response arrives is precious. This lifesaving skill could be what would save the child at these times.

Red Cross societies, many hospitals, and fire service departments offer this course. Take it and learn to help a toddler, especially if you have a private pool.

Learn how to swim

If you have a private pool that your toddler or your neighbors’ kids can fall into or have an incident in when swimming, you should learn to swim, if you do not know how to.

If you visit public swimming facilities with your family and/or friends and kids, you should also learn to swim. Learning how to swim yourself can help you save a child that is near-drowning in the pool, and prevent you from just watching in despair, especially when no professional help is near.

If you are thinking that you are too old to take swimming lessons, remember that “it is never too early or late to learn how to swim”.

Supervision

The effectiveness of the measures put in place to make your pool toddler-friendly is largely dependent on the presence or absence of an adult who is on the lookout for your child.

Any time your toddlers are in the pool, ensure there is one designated adult who is supervising them. Adults on the supervisory duty should ditch the books, the phone, the alcohol, and everything that could distract them. Their attention should be solely on the children in their care.

To Wrap It Up

While this list is not exhaustive and the methods here do not guarantee 100% safety of your children, they play a large role in ensuring the safety of your toddlers when they are in or around the pool.