As the hurricane approaches the East Coast – many parents will be hit with the question, “Surf’s up! Can I go?” It’s a tough question to say no to. The boy loves surfing and because you live where you do, waves like he sees in surfing magazines don’t exist in his world. That’s because so many Eastern beaches have to wait for hurricane force winds to drive in enough swell for truly righteous waves. But before you look into your kid’s excited eyes and say something silly like, “O.K., but be careful.” consider applying a risk practice professionals often use to make decisions about what is a good idea, and what isn’t: Rephrase the question.
What your 15 year-old said: “Surf’s up! Can I go?”
What you should think he said: “A disrupting and rare weather pattern is creating surf conditions unlike any I have ever been exposed to before. Can me and my friends (who have never surfed waves like these either) head out to an abandoned stretch of unguarded beach and see how it goes?”
Alright – so left just like that, you will probably tell him “Sure, I’ll drive!” then point your car West and take him to Kansas. But the act of rephrasing the question to what it actually is helps make better decisions. It may be fine to allow them to go play in the big waves, but consider the following precautions if you just can’t say no: [click to continue…]
Do any research on pool and swimming safety and you will run into the phrase “layers of protection.” Teaching your children to swim is one layer; the fence around the backyard is another; the alarm on the door to the pool deck is a third. The simple idea is that given the seriousness of the risk (drowning), the backyard pool is a hazard that you can’t cover too well. Everything that helps prevent the unintentional entry of a child into the water is a good idea.
I agree. But what if you had to pick one “layer?” You don’t, and you shouldn’t, but what if? Short of filling the pool with dirt, what is the best way to make sure children don’t enter the water when you’re not around?
To answer that question (at least for myself) I’ve taken a week long look at the statistics and stories relating to back yard drownings. I’ve talked to manufacturers of all sorts of alarms, locks, fences, barriers, and electronic monitoring systems and I’ve come to a conclusion: pool safety nets are my personal favorite “layer zero” to prevent drowning in unattended swimming pools.
The reason is as simple as the idea behind the nets themselves: Pool nets, unlike fences or alarms or locks, remove the water from the equation. Fences can be climbed – and the water is there. Locks work, but if you forget to latch it, or an older child opens the door, the water is there. Alarms make noise but do not prevent water entry in any way.
A properly installed pool net makes water entry impossible for small children.
Fully installed on an average sized pool at a total cost hovering around $1600 dollars, high quality pool safety nets are – in my opinion – the must have layer of protection for backyard pools and spas.
Below is a very good overview of pool safety nets by a company called KatchaKid. There are other manufacturers, of course, and I’ve never purchased a net – but I do like their hardware configuration more than most. After reading dozens of product reviews about a number of net manufacturers, I can tell you that this is who I would be calling*.
(PS – they make safety nets for ponds too – a really good idea.)
* Neither Katchakid or any of it’s dealers had any idea I was going to say this. This is not a paid endorsement of any kind, I just really like the product.
as always:
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Coast Guard.
What could possibly go wrong? That question doesn’t get asked often enough. In June of 2002, it was discovered that the suction drain of a hot tub was strong enough to hold a child underwater. Seven-year-old Virginia Graeme Baker lost her life because a spa manufacturer did not ask the question: what could go wrong? [...]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, as part of there PoolSafely initiative, has just released a series of excellent videos on YouTube. I’d like to urge all parents to visit poolsafely.gov, and youtube.com/poolsafely. Their advice is absolutely lifesaving.
At the beach at Cape Canaveral, nineteen-year-old Josh Scurlock looks out at the water. The larger than normal waves look rough but not too rough so he and a friend go out in them to play. A strong swimmer – Josh loves the ocean and his new Florida home just five blocks from the beach. [...]
While my experience in water safety has been predominantly on the rescue side, that experience with things gone wrong has given me some insight on how to do things right. She doesn’t remember it now, but 23 years ago my own daughter was “drownproofed” (Not the right word, really) through a program called Water Babies. [...]
The reaction to an article posted at gCaptain and again here on this site has been just this side of overwhelming. I’d like to thank everyone who reposted – RT’d – shared – and liked “Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning” and for the powerful discussions on the subject of drowning recognition taking place in forums [...]
One of my readers was kind enough to translate “Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning” into Spanish. Thank you, Arturo! http://www.alchilazo.net/2010/07/el-que-se-ahoga-no-parece-ahogarse.html
The best place for boaters to be when heavy weather strikes is back at the marina – but weather changes can happen fast, the unexpected can extend your voyage, and in the middle of your first bad patch of sea is not the time or place to learn how to handle things in rough water.
If you only think about the weather when the National Weather Service sends a warning, you may be thinking about it too late. Small craft advisories are issued for different conditions depending on your location. In Louisiana, for example, small craft advisories are issued when winds are expected to exceed 20 to 33 knots and/or [...]
