Summer is heating up and COVID-19 has left public pools closed and many beaches and lakes without lifeguards. Because of this, families are turning to their own backyards to stay cool by purchasing temporary above-ground pools. These types of pools have specific drowning and safety concerns that families should be aware of.
Dangers of backyard pools
Backyard pools in general pose the greatest threat to children ages 1 through 4, who are unlikely to have had swim lessons and unaware of the dangers of water. Backyard pools tend to be placed close to a house, so it is easy for young children to get out of the house and into the water without anybody noticing.
“Kids have drowned when parents didn’t mean for them to be in the pool,” said Isabell Sakamoto, Suicide and Injury Prevention Program Manager at Seattle Children’s. “With that in mind, having a pool set up in the backyard requires a different level of attention than planning a day at the lake or ocean.”
