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• Learn to swim. The best thing anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim--this includes adults and children. Bubble Swim School has swimming classes for people of any age and swimming ability. To enroll call 368-SWIM.
• Constant Adult Supervision! Never leave a child unobserved around water. Your eyes must be on the child at all times.
• If a child is missing, check the pool first. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool, bottom, and surface, as well as the surrounding pool area
• BARRIERS: Enclose the pool completely with a self-locking, self-closing fence with vertical bars. Openings in the fence should be no more than four inches wide. The house should not be included as a part of the barrier.
• Never leave furniture near the fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence.
• Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it. Pole, rope, and personal flotation devices (PFDs) are recommended.
• Keep toys away from the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.
• Emphasize to young children that we do not swim unless we have our swimming suits on.
• Pool covers should always be completely removed prior to pool use.
• Install a phone by the pool or keep a cell or cordless phone nearby so that you can call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
• CPR/FIRST AID: Learn Red Cross CPR and insist that babysitters, grandparents, and others who care for your child know CPR.
• Post CPR instructions and 9-1-1 or your local emergency number in the pool area.
Just The Facts: Children and Drowning
Drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death among children under the age of 15.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• In 1998, more than 1,300 children and young people (ages 0_18) died from drowning.
• For every child who drowns, another four are hospitalized and 16 receive emergency department care for near-drowning.
• Among children ages 1 to 4, most drownings occur in residential swimming pools. Most children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time.
• A child can drown in the time it takes to answer a phone.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
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