Urging Parents to be Cautious
School holidays are just around the corner, and even though the weather is cooler, Poolwerx is urging parents to still take safety precautions as a study shows one-third of drownings happen during the cooler months.
A recent study conducted by the pool giant revealed 53 per cent of pool owners let maintenance slide, and Pat Henson from Poolwerx Bundaberg said people traditionally forgot about the pool in winter despite 33 per cent of drownings occurring during the cooler months.
"In school holidays safety risks are heightened because children are at home more during the day and even in winter a pool can look very inviting to a little one," Mr Henson said.
"A backyard safety audit needs to be done every season to make sure the risks are diminished." As a long-time partner of Laurie Lawrence's Kids Alive program, Mr Henson said ensuring the pool area was safe was a priority and something easy for pool owners to do.
"We love Laurie's passion for swim safety and we try to uphold his Kids Alive do the Five philosophy and the first two steps - fence the pool, shut the gate - revolve around the safety of the pool area," he said.
"With 75 per cent of drownings in kids under five occurring from a fall into water, preventing them getting into the area is paramount.
"We also support the message of teaching children how to swim all year round as it is a life skill that just might actually save their life one day.
"Parents should also learn CPR so that they could assist in the event of an emergency," Mr Henson said.
"Owning a pool comes with a lot of responsibility that people need to take seriously."
Full article published in Bundaberg News newspaper, 26 June 2018.
