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Home › Articles › General Safety Issues › The First Big Splash!

The First Big Splash!

Playing It Safe With Super-sized Backyard Pools and Babies

By Laura Cone

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After using a small pool, turn it upside down to drain the water out of it, Wilcox says. Finally, keep electric devices such as fans away from the water. Wilcox recommends taking an infant CPR class. Also, keep a cellular phone nearby in case of emergencies. After emptying a swimming pool, it's important to keep it upside down to prevent rainwater from gathering in the pool. While it might make a nice bath for the neighborhood dog, unsupervised pools are a potential hazard for children.

Swim Lessons for Your Floater

In Darla Sandy's infant swim classes, she calls babies her "floaters."

Sandy, a mother of three from Gilbert, Ariz., is a certified instructor with Infant Swimming Resource and works with children as young as 6 months old. Swim lessons are not all fun and games for children. "We teach them to roll themselves to a back float and maintain it," she says. "That's not a game, though; it's hard work."

When parents are in the water with their children, Sandy encourages them to hold them. Their babies can kick their feet and splash the water with their hands. She says parents don't need to worry if their child seems afraid of the water. "I'd rather have a child fearful of the water than have one who has no fear," she says. "Those are the ones who get in the water but have no skill. Our objective with what we teach is to get the child skilled so if they do get to the pool they can help themselves."


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