Summer is almost here and we are all so excited to be spending more time poolside. My kids are like little fish and love spending every minute they can splashing in the water.
In all honesty, I get a little nervous when they go swimming; pools can be so dangerous. I have two basic rules for them at the age they are right now (4 & 7) and that is to stay close by me and no running.
I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of safety concerns at the pool and how to keep my kids having fun at the same time. But recently I heard about a hidden danger at pools that I had never put any thought into. I feel like I had heard it mentioned once or twice but it was never really brought to my attention as a real threat.
Pool Drains
There have been heartbreaking tragedies ending in death because of these old pool drains.
Why? Because they are trapping kids.
When a body part is pushed up against these drains it acts like a vacuum with hundreds of pounds of pressure, making it impossible to move. The other problem is that it grabs you by the hair and doesn’t let it. It is so scary.
So how do keep our kids safe?
Luckily there are new, safe, anti-entrapment drains that are being installed. Hopefully your local pool has them, but to be sure, you need to check or ask the manager. If you swim in hotel pools or backyard pools, check before you get in. If it looks like a flat drain cover, don’t use that pool.
Check out this video from The ZAC Foundation, they have great examples of what these safe pool drain looks like.
More Water Safety
Follow the A, B, C, D’s of water safety:
- A is for Adult
- B is for Barrier
- C is for Classes
- D is for Drains
Visit The ZAC Foundation here for more information to include in your post about how to keep children safe around water.
Liz is a just a mom trying to keep it real about how little she sleeps, how often she gets puked on and how much she loves them. You can find her here every day writing about real-mom moments.
Betty says
I dislike that your picture has a child with the swim arm bands on. They are SO dangerous as it gives them the false sense of security. My great nephew nearly died at 3 when they had taked his off for him to eat. With 12 adults there ” watching” , they discovered they missed him and found him in the bottom of the deep in.TEACH you kids to swim.( or at least how to float or dog paddle.)
Kaylee Fisher says
Honesty, I get nervous when my kids go swimming. Every time, I swear. I know, they can do it well, but I am so nervous. Pool Drains are a really perfect idea, I guess it can work. Will try this, thank you.