Water Safety in Home Pools

Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSS Australia) released a survey report into parents' and carers' behaviour around home swimming pools. RLSS Australia in conjunction with Griffith University surveyed more than 500 parents of children under 5 in NSW who have access to a home swimming pool. This included both owners of backyard swimming pools and those living in apartment complexes with a pool.
 
For children aged under 5 years old, home swimming pools are the leading location for drowning.

There were two key safety messages which were the focus of this survey:
1.    Supervision around home swimming pools
2.    Restriction of access around home swimming pools

The results revealed that among parents of children under 5 years old, there is a greater value placed on supervision than restricting access to this age group. Whilst 63% of respondents reported always supervising children around their pool in the previous month, only 45% reported always restricting access to their pool in the previous month.

This is a major concern as statistics show that lacking either of these factors contributes to drowning deaths. RLSS Australia have previously published data following a 13 year study into drowning deaths in NSW. Looking at children under 5 years old who had drowned in a home swimming pool, supervision was completely absent in the majority of cases.

Regarding access to the pools, data revealed that of those children who had drowned in this period:

• 36.4% gained access through a faulty fence or gate
• 31.8% gained access to the pool due to a lack of fencing
• 18.2% gained access through a gate that was propped open

This data confirms the absolute necessity of both constant active supervision and restricting access with compliant, well maintained fencing.

Royal Life Saving Society’s Keep Watch Advice:
1.    Supervise: All your attention, all of the time
2.    Restrict Access: Ensure there is an adequate barrier between the water and your child
3.  Water Awareness: Enrol in swim lessons to gain familiarity and water confidence
4.    Resuscitate: Learn the life saving skills of CPR

Author: Josephine Moss (Swim School Coordinator)