Children’s pool safety tips

With the summer already here and with the freedom to use the pools, we parents have to take extreme precautions and take into account some safety measures in the children’s pool. Firstly, in areas such as the Villasol Campsite we always have a lifeguard to look after the swimming pool, in addition to the many activities that are carried out and which mean that it is always guarded. However, we must not neglect the little ones even if we know they are being watched.

In addition to all this, we must ensure that the swimming pools have adequate child safety measures, as many of the tragedies we hear about year after year at this time could be avoided by this alone. The National Child Safety Association launched the #OjoPequeAlAgua campaign at the end of January, which has been running since 2017, alerting us to the need for the permanent adult supervision required when a child goes into the water. According to the WHO, drowning is the third largest cause of death worldwide and the second largest in Spain, especially for children under 5.

The decalogue of safety in the children’s pool

1. Continuous monitoring: The campaign warns that there is no substitute for adult supervision. As we indicated before, this is the safest security measure, so let’s be redundant. Because there is nothing like being aware of what might happen. If for any reason you can’t keep an eye on the little one, ask someone you trust.
2. One arm (and hug): the idea is to look at the pool every 10 seconds and be able to reach it in less than 20 seconds. The 10/20 rule is to be able to reach the child with your arm. Of course, in addition to continuous surveillance, we should not go too far from where the children are bathing.
3. Assessing risks: prevention is better than cure. We must evaluate the possibility that the child may arrive at the pool alone in a careless manner and position ourselves in such a way that it is impossible or at least as complicated as possible without us noticing.
4. Levels of protection: related to the above, if necessary, we must have safety devices that prevent the child from reaching the pool alone in an accident, for example, a playground.
5. Learning and education: Of course, it is necessary to teach children to swim, float and, in general, to take the necessary precautions in the water, such as not going into places where they cannot stand.
6. Rescue devices: although this is the responsibility of the lifeguard if it is a public pool or one directed at a large number of people, it never hurts to also count on private pools with at least one pole, a lifeguard and the telephone at hand.
7. Order: One of the most common causes of falling is when a child tries to reach something on or near it. Try to avoid flashy toys and objects around the pool.
8. Drainages: pools have drainage elements for their maintenance from which it is convenient to keep the little ones away. In addition, it is important to know how they work in case the worst happens, to know how to help the little one.
9. Safety elements: safety fences, covers, alarms… are just some of the safety elements that swimming pools should have. Even if we put our children in sleeves or floats, don’t trust them, as they are not enough.
10. Emergencies: both children and adults should know about PAS (protect, alert and assist) behaviour, as well as resuscitation manoeuvres or how to call 112.

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In short, we must take all of the above into account if we go to a pool with our children. These safety measures in the children’s pool are indispensable, although nothing replaces permanent adult supervision, as we said before. When our children swim in the pool it is our responsibility to make sure they are well and to avoid any possible accident.

99% of child drownings could be avoided if the above measures indicated by the #OjoPequeAlAgua campaign were followed, so awareness and consideration is necessary to avoid situations that no one wants.

At Camping Villasol we take all this into account and we feel committed to prevent something like this from happening. If you come and have any questions about our pool, do not hesitate to ask our staff to solve all your questions. If you feel committed and you do the right thing, don’t worry, enjoy the pool!