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DRThe US is behind here - other countries (including Australia) mandate full, circumferential fencing.
Why does it matter? Because pool safety doesn’t rely on ONE factor - it relies on MANY. Because, you don’t want just one single factor that could fail, and allow a young child to access (and fall into) the pool.
So, that safety includes the 4 mandatory protections:
1) alarms / out of reach locks on all doors that can access the pool
2) a fully circumferential fence around the pool, so that if a child exits the house and no one notices, they STILL cannot get into the pool. (As an ER doctor, I’ll say that this is one of the biggest factors that is neglected. Pool owners - understandably - don’t want a fence between the house and the pool because it’s not attractive. I get that- but NOTHING makes up for the risk of not having that fence. We had the same issue when we were building our pool. But, I’ve seen too many tragedies to care - safety first, aesthetics second. Make sure that gates are NEVER EVER propped open.
3) swimming lessons for children
4) and of course, adult active supervision anytime children are in the pool
When it was time to put in our pool, we researched a lot of the companies - and ended up setting on @protectachildpoolfence fence, as I really respected the strength of their composite I-beam posts, the mesh that doesn’t rip if its stabbed/poked (and the fact that my child cannot climb that), AND that it can support 165 lbs of pressure and 333 lb burst strength (sorry, i got nerdy about the stats!). Plus, it’s so easy to temporarily remove and re-install - because if it’s not easy to do that, let’s be honest, you won’t use it. I felt that the research was tough and that this was a hard decision - and I’m SO happy with it. Even my hubs agrees that it looks WAY better than he had expected. :)
PLUS - they even let me offer a coupon - YAY! Comment FENCE and we will DM you a coupon for $50 off!!
#poolsafety #poolfence #pool #drowning #drowningprevention #emergencymedicine #doctor
@drdarria
