Bucket and Swimming Pool Safety
As the weather warms, we start spring cleaning and begin to use swimming pools. Please make the spring cleaning and swimming season a safe one, for your family. Drowning is the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury, related deaths in the home. Drownings occur in buckets filled with only a few inches of water and in backyard swimming pools.
Never leave a bucket filled with water:
• Empty the bucket of water, when a cleaning task is finished.
• Do not leave water in an unattended bucket.
• Store unused buckets turned over, so water cannot collect inside them.
• A toddler can fall into a bucket, filled with a small amount of water, and drown.
Safety around the pool is critical to avoid an injury or death:
• Swim with a partner or observer, so if you encounter a medical situation someone can call for help.
• Always practice constant “touch supervision” around the pool.
Touch supervision means that you are close enough to your child, grandchild or great grandchild to reach out and touch him/her.
• Older children should not be left in charge of younger children, while in or around the pool.
• Teach children that pool fittings, drains and grates are not toys and they should never stick their fingers or toes in them.
• Inflatable toys and rafts can deflate. Non-swimmers should not use them in water over their heads.
Safety Precautions:
• If you own a pool, install perimeter fencing to surround the pool and a self-latching locking gate or a secured pool cover.
• Keep a cordless or cellular telephone when you are out by the pool.
• Instruct babysitters about potential pool hazards and emphasize the need for constant supervision.
• If your children, grandchildren or great grandchildren visit yours’ or a friends’ pool, be sure they are watched by an adult and know the pool safety rules.
• Insist that anyone who cares for your child, grandchild or great grandchildren knows CPR.
• Learn and practice basic lifesaving techniques, including CPR and first aid.
• In the event of a drowning, get the person out of the pool, Dial 9-1-1, and start CPR, if the person is not breathing and doesn’t have a pulse.
Drowning prevention is everyone’s responsibility. Please insure the spring cleaning and swimming season is a safe and enjoyable one.
For Emergencies Dial 9-1-1
Safety tips shared by The Home Safety Council®
