Parties are fun. At least they’re suppose to be. Some parties have such a safety risk that it pops the stress level real high and drives the fun level down, especially for the person hosting the party.
Pool parties can be lots of fun. Supervision by adults and or a qualified life guard is crucial. Safety first!
I attended a backyard pool party with my husband and my 2 boys one summer. Lots of families with children were there celebrating July 1st Canada Day. No one was assigned life guard duty. My 2 boys were in the pool so my husband and I parked ourselves at the pool side to keep an eye on them. In just the short time we were there, a 6 year old girl who couldn’t swim jumps off the diving board into the deep end. She was gasping for air and going down when my husband saw her. I jumped in with all my clothes on and got her to safety. So… I’m back on the deck drying off and I see a 4 year old bouncing along holding on to the side of the pool. Well he bounced himself right into the deep end. In I go again and pulled that kid out. I haven’t even stopped dripping and I see a toddler at the edge of the pool ready to fall into the water. I catch her just as she falls in. And then there’s this stupid kid who pushed my son’s head in the water. Come on folks!!! Pool parties have serious safety issues!
In my town someone decided to rent a town pool for their kid’s birthday party….yup…you guessed it…. A kid drowned. It happens really, really fast. It only takes 12 seconds. There is a life guard training video where a family decides to have a birthday pool party…just like the one I mentioned above. The video was taken from a surveillance camera. One of the guests was terrified of the water…but the birthday child’s mom promised that she would watch him and keep him close. Guess who drowned. The child was resuscitated but he has permanent brain damaged. If you’re thinking of having such a party…. you need to watch that video before you start sending out the invitations. And if you still want to do a pool party, safety first! Make sure you have adults assigned life guard duty at ALL times (at least one life guard on duty per 25 kids… and that’s stretching it) and make sure you have insurance.
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