Child Pool Fence Overview

The child pool fence is an absolute necessesty if you have a home pool today and a small child.

Why? Several reasons really.....supervision is still the number one prevenative measure for child safety.

However, please take note of the following!

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission directed a study about child drowning incidents which indicates that SUPERVISION NOT ONLY CAN FAIL, BUT DOES! The investigation targeted children in Florida, California and Arizona....all under the age of five who had drown in home simming pools with no child pool fence.

Understanding WHY these children drown and the details of the supervision at the time could certainly help put an explamation point on the necessety behind a child pool fence.

• Who was in charge of the supervision during the drowning?
  
  
  • 7% - Siblings
  • 10% - Adults 'other than the parents'
  • 14% - Sitters
  • 69% - One or both parents
    
    
• Where did the pool drowning occur?
  
  
  • 11% - Neighbor's pool
  • 22% - Relative's pool
  • 65% - Pool owned by the child's family
    
    
• Where was the child last seen?
  Percentage of children seen within 5 minutes of drowning - 77%
  
  
  • 23% - In the yard, porch, etc, but not in the pool area
  • 31% - In the pool area
  • 46% - LAST SEEN IN THE HOUSE
    
    
• What was the responsible supervising person doing during the drowning?
  
  
  • 9% - Talking on the phone
  • 18% - Socializing
  • 39% - Doing common chores around the area

Child Pool Fence Tips

The child pool fence is THE most important backup you can have in place to direct supervision of a toddler near the home pool. However, the most effective results come from the actual placement of the child pool fence.

The idea behind the fence is that the pool area should be completely isolated from the rest of the house and property when not in use and under supervision. That means that the fenced pool aread should not be designed to encourage (or require) pathways from one part of the property to another. There should be NO REASON to open the gate unless the pool is being used for swimming and swimming alone.

Another tip for the child pool fence.....the gate's ability to CLOSE by itself and LOCK by itself is paramount to a successful system. A gate that does not do this is at severe risk with toddlers or small children around the house. Just one forgetful person, child or adult, leaving the gate unclosed could result in a drowning incident and render the child pool fence completely useless.

Remember, your child pool fence system is just one of several 'layers' of protection against drowning. It must be used in conjunction with supervision, house perimeter door alarms, locked doors and swimming lessons to keep a pool safe environment for all.