Every once in a while I think back to when I was little and the 2 foot deep, 8 foot wide round metal pool that lived in the back yard. It spent the long, cold winters turned upside down to keep the water and critters out, while I looked at it through the kitchen window, just waiting for the first signs of spring and warmer weather. When it was time, my mom and I would spend a couple of days getting it ready: scrubbing, filling and adding a few chemicals to keep the cooties out.
Just like every little kid out there, I couldn’t wait for the water to get warm enough to take the first plunge. Of course a few things had to happen before I could even dip a toe in:
1. The water and air temperatures had to be warm enough
2. I had to help take the cover off without getting any bugs or dirt in the water
3. A parent had to be there to watch
4. The phone in the garage had to be plugged in just in case something went wrong
Something else my parents did was to enroll me in swim lessons every summer until I knew the basics of floating, treading water, and swimming independently on my front and back. Even though I was confident in my skills and the pool was only 2 feet deep, someone was always around to watch.
The other kids in the neighborhood didn’t understand why we had these rules because their pools were never covered and nobody ever watched them swim. Now that I’ve been a lifeguard for 20 years and have heard too many stories about drownings in backyard pools, I’m really glad my parents cared enough to keep me safe.
I miss that old pool sometimes as it held some of my favorite summer memories. Of course I wouldn’t be here to share them if it hadn’t been for the safety rules that we had! To make sure your family can share your own good memories, enroll each child in an American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program by visiting
www.redcross.org and clicking on “Preparing and Getting Trained”. Not sure what to do in an emergency? The Home Pool Essentials course can show you how. Visit
www.homepoolessentials.org for more information.
Stephanie Landess is a Safety Outreach Specialist for the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter.