Every year hundreds of drowning reports make there way into our office through many colleagues at various agencies throughout the State of California. We are always saddened to hear of needless drownings which is why we are presenting this blog on 4th of July Pool Party Safety Tips for those throwing pool parties or just attending.
While some drownings are not preventable, most are! It is not only children that are drowning but adults and even pets. There are many reasons which we will cover and we invite our readers to share this blog across the internet in hopes of raising awareness just prior to the 4th of July holiday.
Drownings can happen in backyard pools, at the beach, at the lake, in the river or anywhere there is water. Even infants have been known to drown in 4 inches of water. Many people are unaware that drownings are preventable with the right supervision and in this case we are referring to pool parties. Southern California has the highest number of pools in the nation and it should be no surprise that drowning statistics would be higher in this area as compared to the rest of the country. Many drownings occur without being mentioned in the media so the public is not aware how widespread it is unless you work in our office.
Find out what's happening in Woodland Hillsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Here are some factors that contribute to drownings:
- Poor swimming skills
- Lack of adequate supervision
- Alcohol
- Distractions
- Over capacity
POOR OR NO SWIMMING SKILLS
Find out what's happening in Woodland Hillsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This is one of the top reasons for childhood drownings!
If your child does not know how to swim, you need to enroll your child in a reputable swim school to learn how to be swim safe. There are a multitude of reputable swim schools in the southern California region that are extremely successful in getting kids trained and some can get your kids swimming in 6 sessions or more depending on your child's retention rate.
Too often we see parents depending on swim floaties for their untrained children and based on our experience, this is not always a good idea. For example, we have witnessed children wearing floaties at pool parties and they do alright however some attach a false sense of security to them. After a day of swimming, the floaties come off, some children will attempt to jump back into a pool believing they will float and they end up getting into trouble. Often times these kids will jump in without their parents knowledge. To say that kids are just too quick is an understatement. many kids have drowned in this type of scenario.
Another scenario is peer pressure for the older kids. Many will attempt to jump into a pool with no swimming experience just to keep from from being belittled for not knowing how to swim. We witnessed this a few years back and were amazed at how tough peer pressure can be. Drowning is not worth trying to prove one is not a wimp!
We understand that kids love to swim all day but they need to know their limits. Many kids will become exhausted from swimming and when that happens their swimming skills deteriorate quite rapidly. Our lifeguards are extremely proactive to note the many hazards at pool parties such as the examples given above.
LACK OF ADEQUATE SUPERVISION
This is probably the number one reason that drownings occur and with adequate supervision, drownings are preventable. No child should die because no one was watching or because of distractions.
How many times have you heard stories of pool party hosts asking friends or better yet their nannies to watch the pool full of swimmers? Some of these pool parties end up with a tragic drowning because the help the hosts put in place were untrained individuals with no surveillance skills whatsoever. Nannies are the biggest culprits as they are usually undocumented individuals with a language barrier. NEVER ask an untrained friend or nanny to watch over the lives of kids in pools. Many times pool party hosts would rather not hire a lifeguard because of the expense involved. Would you put a price on the lives of children? We hope not!
Often times many pool party attendees with children are inclined to drink beer or wine. This is unacceptable! If you are going to allow alcohol at your pool party, hire a lifeguard. However, not just any lifeguard and DO NOT HIRE FREELANCE LIFEGUARDS ON CRAIGSLIST!!
ALCOHOL
Alcohol brings a whole new level of danger especially at adult pool parties. Some of the adult pool parties can be overwhelming to say the least and this requires some extremely professional and experienced lifeguards on the deck.
Alcohol can alter behavior and give people what we call "liquid courage" in which they would do things they normally would not do otherwise such as performing wild flips off the edge of the pool or diving board. We have witnessed some very serious injuries occurring as a result of intoxication.
Alcohol can also diminish a person's physical abilities to swim leading to drowning. You have heard of death by driving under the influence (DUI) but there is also death by swimming under the influence (SUI) (SWI). People who have been drinking and are obviously intoxicated should be prohibited from swimming, PERIOD!
In conclusion, the bottom line this year is safety should always be paramount at any type of pool party. We hope that our 4th of July Pool Party Safety Tips has given you ideas on how to make your pool party safer. Drownings don't have to happen!
For more information, please email us at info@goldenstatefireems.com or info@goldenstatelifeguards.com