pool safety

We have a swimming pool and i just thought to write up same advice for it......
 --Pools are very dangerous if not monitored properly.....
 --Drawnings are the number one cause of death for children under 5yrs......
 --For every drawning there are 11 near drawning incidents,according to government statistics,many of these near drawnings will result in totally disabling a child or brain damage.......
 --Drawnings happen quickly they happen with no warnings there are no cries for help......
    Deligent supervision is your main protection...that is, do not rely on anyone els to be supervising your children always maintain a watchful eye on them....
 --access gates to the pool area should have high child proof locks,it is good that your gates are self closing....
 --Your pool should always be seperate from your house.....
   Our pool was not fenced of properly and we had to go through one gate to access pool and back yard, we had to restructure this and refence our pool wich now has two fences, one that opens to the back yard with a seperate fence that enters the pool area, much safer....when inside the house i always maintain the screen door locked and keep the keys hung high so they cant be reached by litle hands,just an added precaution,even though there are two gates you can never be to safe......
 --Water survival tranning for a child who is crawling or walking.This should be refreshed on summer months,small children will forget through the winter months.This is not intended to teach a child how to swim, this is more to provide a child with necessary survival skills.Children should be tought to get themself to a wall or steps and they should be tought how to get out.....If posible you should teach children how to roll over and float on their back.....
  These survival skills will be reatained during the active months with practice,they are not a full cover against drawning a child should never be in the pool area on their own.......
 --All adults/parents should keep their basic CPR skills up to date, these rescue techniques are very important to know....
 --Always set down definite pool rules,making sure that children are aware that they are not to enter pool area unless with an adult, that he/she shouldnt jump in the pool unless mummy or daddy are with them.We have already began to drum this into ryan...Every time we are in the pool we say this to him many times......
 --It is good practice never to leave toys in the pool that may attract your children.....
 --Tables and chairs should not be kept near the pool fence, they could be used as stepping blocks.....
 --Do not allow the pool area to be used as a play area....
   All these points are important in keeping children safe when you have a pool - children should be tought water safety from a young age,specially when you have a pool in your back yard.Iam sure as parents we all know these points....But its good to have as a reminder, i hope this helps.......