As the weather slowly warms up again, many of us will begin taking our swimming trunks, bikinis, or swimsuits out of storage, so we can splash around and have fun at the pool. While this a great way to have fun and stay cool on a warm sunny day, it is important not to neglect certain safety precautions. After all, no one wants what was meant to be an enjoyable day to suddenly turn into a nightmare.
Make sure your day at the pool stays fun by avoiding preventable tragedies. Below is a list of helpful safety tips you should consider before you or your children dip your toes into the pool this season:
- Always make sure an adult is supervising the children while they are in the pool. An accident can happen in the blink of an eye and, if the pool is crowded, it might be easy to lose track of children if your attention is turned away from them for a few minutes, so make sure you are not on your phone, checking social media or texting friends while you are supposed to be supervising while on guard duty. As an extra safeguard, provide children with a life jacket.
- If you have a pool, make sure it is secured with appropriate barriers that can keep children out when they are not meant to be in the pool. You should also have a safety cover placed on your poo when not in use and remove any ladders or steps that might make them accessible to children.
- Create rules for your children to follow. For example, you might not want your children to dive. Other rules you might want to establish is for children to stay away from drain covers, to always swim with a buddy, and to walk in areas around the pool. The ground surrounding the pool will likely be wet and slippery, so walking carefully is important to prevent slip-and-fall accidents.
- Make sure everyone in the home knows what to do in an emergency and always have appropriate safety equipment available. You might also want to consider taking first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.
- Drink enough water to stay hydrated, even if you are not thirsty. You should also avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them since these could dehydrate your body.
- While it is fun to play pool games, it is crucial to steer clear of rowdy horseplay and other rough games in the pool that could endanger your safety or the safety of others. Never push anyone into the pool or yank them into the water when they are not expecting it.
- Be sure to exercise extra caution when using a heated spa. Remaining in heated water for too long can lead to dizziness, nausea, vomiting, overheating, or even burning of the skin. To avoid this, limit your soaks to 30 minutes and keep children who are under the age of 5 away from the spa.
Quincy Personal Injury Attorney
If you were injured in an accident that was caused by the negligent acts of another party, now is the time to obtain the skilled legal representation you need to secure the compensation you deserve. At Flanagan & Associates, our firm has been representing injured victims in Massachusetts for many years and would be honored to assist you during this difficult time.
Contact our office today to schedule your free case evaluation. We offer our services on a contingency fee basis, which means you will not owe us any legal fees unless we win your case.