Bathing rules/safety
Water can be a lot of fun and joy, but it also poses some dangers. Compared to road traffic, for example, these risks are considered rather low. Nevertheless, it makes sense to be aware of the dangers in swimming pools and with the help of a few simple rules of conduct, the existing risk can be significantly reduced.
Basically, we'd like to start by saying that safety should always be a top priority. For the Swimy swimming system, we have therefore only selected exercises where the risk of accidents for children is very low. However, it must be considered that children's swimming skills, local conditions (lake, indoor pool, outdoor pool) and parents' understanding of water safety are key factors that make the individual exercises more or less safe. Therefore, you must assess the risk of each exercise yourself. We cannot accept any liability for our offer. In the following sections, we describe the most important safety aspects in swimming pools.
General supervisory obligation
What many parents do not know and therefore absolutely must be mentioned first is the supervisory obligation you have towards your children. It is your responsibility to supervise your children and not to supervise the swimming pool. This is required by law and also makes practical sense. A lifeguard often has to supervise several hundred bathers and can never see everything at once.
So never take your eyes off your kids.
Bathing accidents
The most common bathing accidents occur as a result of tripping and slipping or jumping in. The floor in outdoor and indoor pools is incredibly slippery and there are hard edges everywhere. Serious accidents can occur, especially when jumping inattentively into water. This applies both when jumping from the edge of the pool and from the diving board. Last but not least, the water slides should be mentioned. There, too, accidents occur again and again when bathers do not leave enough space between people.
For these reasons, there are a few simple rules:
There is no running in the swimming pool.
The no jump signs must be observed. In addition, you always have to make sure that there is no swimmer in the way when you jump into the water and the following applies to open water: Never jump into cloudy water.
On the slide, you must always pay attention to the traffic lights (if available). Otherwise, you always leave enough space so that it is impossible to catch up with the previous person.
drowning
Although very rare, it happens that children drown even in bulging pools. The dangerous thing about this is that films and television give many people a completely wrong idea of how drowning works. You don't wave your hands wildly around yourself and you don't have the strength to scream. Drowning is usually silent and, especially among children, it can easily be mistaken for a harmless dive. It must also be clear to parents that swimming aids do not protect against drowning. Children should only be accompanied by adults with swimming skills and wearing life jackets on sea or river trips.
That's why here again. Never let your child out of your sight.
Also, don't take any risks, never swim far out in open water with your child.
The same applies to our exercises: Only do those exercises that you are sure that you could help your child out of the water immediately at any time and under any circumstances.
Hypothermia, diseases and cardiovascular system
These three points should also be considered. With regard to hypothermia, you should pay particular attention to infants, as they are not yet able to generate their own heat through active body movement or cold shivering. Germs and bacteria can be present in swimming pools just like anywhere else, but the chlorine in the water kills most of them. For infants, the water should be of drinking water quality. With regard to cardiovascular problems, you should especially avoid rapid drops in temperature and refrain from eating 20 minutes before swimming.
Don't stay in cold water with your children for too long. When doing so, pay attention to symptoms of hypothermia. The first signs of hypothermia are skin discolouration, especially on the lips, hands and feet. For infants, 20 minutes is a good guideline.
Observe the usual hygiene measures in the indoor pool. (Showering, visiting the toilet regularly)
Don't drink swimming pool water.
Do not jump into cold water when overheated.
Do not eat up to 20 minutes before swimming.
What to do in an emergency?
If there is actually an accident in the swimming pool, the main thing is not to act headlessly and remain calm. The best course of action then depends on the type of accident and your first aid skills. Be sure to get help though. There is an emergency button in most swimming pools. Ask the other people around you for help too, someone should call the lifeguard, someone else call emergency services and someone will stay with the victim and take care of it.
Always find out when you enter a new pool where the swimming supervision and emergency buttons are.
