Swimming pools and wild toddlers don’t mix

By Heather

by Heather

About a year ago, my 3-year old nearly drowned. He fell into a swimming pool and was fully submerged before my supermom instincts kicked in and I pulled him out by his hand. It was terrifying but also illuminating.

swimming pool

I know that if he had been under the care of anyone but myself, I would have blamed the other adult. For sure. But in this case, I knew that I had done everything possible to ensure Holden’s safety but stuff just happens.

We had been swimming and discussed water safety earlier in the day. We reviewed the three key rules:

1. Only go in the water with a grown-up
2. No running
3. You can pee in the pool … if you absolutely can’t hold it … but never poop. We were potty training, give me a break!

After our time of splashing and silliness, we both got out of the pool and dried off. He was fully clothed and wanted to stick his feet in the water, so I warned him to be careful. I sat immediately behind him with my arm around his waist talking to friends. One friend was on the poolside with me and others were in the water splashing around. Holden threw my hand off of his body just as he decided to reach for a sparkle of light dancing on the water.

He went in like a rock.

A flailing rock, that is. Because his arms were waving over his head, I was able to grab his outstretched hand and pull him out to safety in an instant.

When you hear statistics like more than 280 children under the age of 5 drown in a swimming pool each year, it might sound shocking, but how likely is it that you would lecture your young child about safety and then turn away to speak to a friend. Or run to grab the phone.

Here are a few new swimming pool safety tips from the AAP to add to my original list:

Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment.
An adult who knows CPR should actively supervise children at all times.
Practice touch supervision with children younger than 5 years. This means that the adult is within an arm’s length of the child at all times (Hey! I was doing this.).

Children over the age of 4 should also take a certified water safety class, as recommended by about.com Swimming Pool Safety Tips. This summer, we plan to take serious swim lessons and water safety classes. I hope classes and more preparedness help both of us to get over our fears of the water.

Photo by Petit Leo. Some rights reserved. Usage does not constitute photographer’s endorsement.