A swimming pool is a much-wanted and much-loved luxury for many American families, so much so that there are over 10 million residential pools in the U.S.and more than 300,000 public swimming pools. More than 35% of children in the seven to 17 age bracket swim at least six times per year and 15% of adults do the same. According to recent statistics, more than 80 million people in the United States had swum in the last year. Despite this, swimming safety is still a concern.
The Red Cross survey found that only 56% of those surveyed have mastered the five core swimming skills; a survey found that almost 45% did not know basic water-safety information, despite believing they could swim fine. One-fifth of drownings involve young children under 14. Over the period 2005 to 2009, there were over 3,500 unintentional drowning deaths per year, amounting to an average of 10 drownings per day.
When it comes to protecting young children and pets, a swimming pool safety cover is vital. Hard swimming pool covers, whether automatic or not, are best as they can bear weight and do not give way if someone walks on them. A swimming pool safety cover prevents children falling in accidentally and provides a first line of defense against drownings.
In addition pool fencing surrounding the area can ensure that no inexperienced young swimmers wander into the pool by accident. An isolation fence, which has four sides, rather than a three-sided property-line fence, can reduce the risk of drowning for children by more than 80%. In fact, more than 50% of child drownings in swimming pools could have been avoided if a pool fence was in use. Look for self-latching and self-closing pool gates that are at least four feet high and with latches high enough not to be reached by children.