How important is a pool fence?
An unprotected pool is over 100 times more dangerous to your child than a loaded gun (Freakanomics, 2005). And so the safety of your pool area cannot be an after- thought. If you wouldn’t buy a car without a seatbelt, you should never have a pool without a pool fence.
Just how serious is the problem? Drowning is a leading cause of death for children under five in the US and around the world. For every drowning there are eleven near drowning incidents, according to government statistics; many of which result in totally disabling brain damage.
The latest US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report recorded an average of 279 children under five fatally drowning per year – that’s over 3 times as many deaths per year as the heavily covered “Swine Flu,” which prompted a media frenzy.
The following statistics show the conditions in which children drown.
- 69 percent of the accidents occurred while one or both parents were responsible for supervision.
- 10 percent were adults other than the parents.
- 14 percent were sitters.
- 7 percent siblings
- 65 percent were in a pool owned by the child’s family.
- 22 percent at a relatives
- 11 percent happened at a neighbor’s.
Drowning happens quickly and without warning. There is no cry for help.
77 percent of the children who drowned had been seen 5 minutes or less before being missed and subsequently discovered in the pool.
- 46 percent of children WERE LAST SEEN IN THE HOUSE prior to being found in the pool. Of these, 15 percent were thought to be sleeping.
- 23 percent were last seen in the yard, porch or patio, not in the pool area. That’s a total of 69 percent that were thought not to be in the pool area.
- 31 percent were last seen in the pool or pool area.
- 39 percent of parents were doing chores during the incident.
- 18 percent socializing.
- 9 percent were busy on the telephone.
The suddenness of this type of accident and the results it yields is devastating to anyone it touches. When you think pool, think hard core. Even if this is not your personality, you must be an absolute dictator. Let your children know without any doubts, that is your way or none at all.
The statistics show that supervision CAN AND DOES FAIL. Backup layers of protection must be put in place for your child to be safe.
The CPSC and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend pool safety fencing as a critical layer of protection. They both advise (and the American Standard of Testing and Measure [ASTM] requires) the pool fence should be at least 48? high and undergo serious testing. Cities and states throughout the United States and abroad have made pool safety fencing required by law for residential swimming pools based on these recommendations. Pool Corral meets and exceeds the ASTM standard for pool safety fencing, and is approved by local and state building codes around the country, including the very strict Florida Building Code.