(HealthDay News) -- Having a swimming pool or hot tub in the back yard can pose a drowning danger for young children.
The American Red Cross offers these safety tips:
- Protect your pool with a barrier, ideally a 4-foot-high fence with a self-latching gate. Ladders and steps should be removed when the pool is not in use.
- An adult should always be no more than arm's length from a child in the pool.
- Inexperienced little ones should wear a life jacket approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.
- All supervising adults should know how to swim well, and should take an instructional swimming class. Everyone in the home should know first aid and CPR taught by the Red Cross.
- Properly maintain the pool and chemicals to keep the pool clean and safe.
- Create and enforce rules for the pool, such as no diving, no running, only swimming with a buddy and staying away from the drain.
