Pool safety

Remember to always exercise caution when at the pool to ensure everyone has a great time:

• Never leave babies or children alone or in the care of another child, while in or near pools, spas, or wading pools – or near bathtubs, lakes, irrigation ditches, or other open bodies of water.
• Remember, an infant can drown in just one inch of water – so make sure the supervising adult is always within arm’s length of the child with their full attention focused on them at all times.
• The supervising adult should not be engaged in distracting activities, such as talking on a telephone, socializing, or tending to household chores.
• Parents and caregivers should learn CPR or BLS (Basic Life Support).
• Supervising adults should make sure they do not leave any pool toys in the water as a child could fall in while trying to retrieve them.
• Toddlers, youngsters with an intellectual disability, and children with seizure disorders are particularly vulnerable to drowning, but all youngsters are in danger if unsupervised in or near water.
• Even a child who knows how to swim may drown a few feet from safety.
• Consuming alcohol at a public swimming pool is against the law.
• If you have any illness or infection (such as a cold, sore throat, athlete’s foot, or diarrhoea), please don’t spread it around; once you are better, you can use the pool again.
• Visit the bathroom before you use the pool!
• Take children on bathroom breaks every 60 minutes or check diapers every 30 to 60 minutes.
• Change diapers in the bathroom or diaper-changing area and not at the poolside, where germs can get into the water.
• Wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers.
• Shower with soap before you start swimming (then rinse yourself under the shower at the pool before you swim).
• Don’t swallow the water you swim in.