May is national Water Safety Month. With the promise of summer comes more time spent near and in the water. Here are some tips to keep your family safe while enjoying all types of water activities.

Stay close, be alert and watch children in and around the pool.  Child drowning is a silent death, with no splashing to alert anyone that a child is in trouble. 

• Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your child when he or she is in or near water, including shallow water.  Never allow a young child in a pool or spa without an adult.
• Don’t use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision. 
• Teach children basic water safety tips.
• Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments.  Ensure any pool or spa you use has compliant drain covers and ask pool providers if you don’t know.   PRO Club pool drains have compliant drain covers to prevent entrapment. 
• Have a telephone close by when you or your family is using a pool or spa.  Program emergency numbers into contacts or speed-dial. 
• If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first.  Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
• Share safety instructions with family, friends, neighbors and care givers.
• Emphasize the need for constant supervision with care givers/baby sitters.
• Appoint a designated watcher to monitor children during social gatherings.
• Never assume someone else is watching a child in a pool area

 Learn and practice water safety skills.

• Teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.
• Learn how to swim.
• Learn to perform CPR on children and adults and update those skills regularly.
• Understand the basics of life-saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency.
• Don’t rely on swimming lessons, life preservers or other equipment to make a child “water safe”.

Have appropriate equipment for your pool or spa.

• Install a four-foot or taller fence around the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates.  Ask your neighbors to do the same at their pools.
• Teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.
• Learn how to swim.
• Learn to perform CPR on children and adults and update those skills regularly.
• Understand the basics of life-saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency.
• Don’t rely on swimming lessons, life preservers or other equipment to make a child “water safe”.
• Install and use a lockable safety cover on your spa.  Maintain pool and spa covers in good working order.
• Equip doors and windows that exit to pool area with alarms to alert you when children go near the water.  Consider using a surface wave or underwater alarm.