It might surprise you to know that there are many parents who allow well-meaning grandparents and other caregivers to supervise their children in the pool, people who would be clueless in a water emergency.

Sometimes adults feel that young children are safe if access to the pool area is difficult. This can be a very dangerous assumption, causing a false sense of security. While a locked glass door and pool gate certainly is a barrier to intrusion, they cannot be considered a hundred percent effective every time.

If there are older children in the house who are coming and going, these doors can be accidentally left open or unlocked. Most curious toddlers can figure out how to open a door or gate just by watching an older child.
While it may not be necessary that all caregivers know how to swim -- especially your 65-year-old mother -- you may want to make sure that they know how to perform a non-swimming rescue. A senior citizen with proper training could even save a child using his cane. CPR and first aid experience or certification is good precautions to consider when hiring a caregiver.

The basic principle of "Reach and Throw but Do Not Go," which has been taught by the Red Cross for years, still applies today. If someone falls into the water unexpectedly, the first effort by the rescuer should be a reaching assist of some sort. Anything, which extends the reaching distance, can be used; a pool maintenance pole, a broom, a towel, even a pool toy.

If the child is too far away, then a thrown assist can be used. Objects that float are usually good choices. The victim can be instructed to grab on to the floating object. Even a non-swimmer is capable of performing either of these two rescues.

The reason the Red Cross advises "Do Not Go" is because only a trained lifeguard should perform a rescue by entering the water. Even an adult who is an accomplished swimmer can be placed in a dangerous situation when trying to rescue a child who is in a drowning panic.

Through lifeguard training, the child caregiver can be taught rescue techniques, which can be used without endangering his or her life. After all, as tragic as a drowning may be, a double drowning is much more devastating. The saddest thing of all is that most, if not all, drowning, which occur in the home, are preventable. While there is no substitute for supervision, having caregivers who are trained for all emergencies is a step in the right direction.
 
April Cox, a Pinecrest resident, has been teaching adults and children to swim for more than 25 years. She is employed as a lifeguard and swim instructor for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. For more information on instructional swim, water safety, and related topics, please call 305-235-4390.