(The Center Square) – Sales of inflatable pools and above-ground pools are up this year because many public pools closed and people were stuck at home because of COVID-19.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said 22 children were killed in drowning accidents in Illinois in 2019.
With more backyard pools in use this year, they worry that more children could drown. Even small kiddie pools put children at risk.
“It happens very quickly. People overestimate their ability to rescue a child,” Jassen Strokosch, deputy director of communications for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said.
Drowning accidents are easy to prevent if people use caution and understand the risks, he said.
Backyard pools are magnets for children, Strokosch said. While you are inside with your own children or on a quick trip to the store, a child from the neighborhood could get in your yard and drown in your pool.
“Having a pool and having swimming stuff is not just about your own family. It truly is about neighborhoods,” Strokosch said. “Anyone in the community that is going by could be impacted by those pools and you could have a tragedy.”
If you don’t have fencing and gates to keep children away from a pool, the pool should be empty and turned upside down when you are not there to supervise, he said. Toddlers can slip in a pool and drown in a few inches of water, he said.
In the evening, when people gather around a pool, it can be difficult to see a child who slips under water in a dark pool. You have to be vigilant, he said.
Do not underestimate a child’s ability to open a door or open a gate, he said. Parents think a small child can’t open a sliding glass door or lift the latch on a gate. Children can surprise you, he said.
In addition to pool accidents, children also drown in bathtubs and even in buckets of water. A toddler can stumble over into a bucket and drown in an instant. A child can slip in a bathtub and hit his head. People need to be vigilant anytime a child is around water, Strokosch said.