Summer is here and this means going swimming, especially to kids.

Unfortunately there are not as many swimming holes as we used to

have, so people are turning to pools -- usually in their own yard.

And with the price of gasoline skyrocketing, more and more people are

staying home and are getting swimming pools in their yard to have a

vacation at home.

Yes, swimming is a lot of fun and it's great exercise. But pools can

also be very dangerous because of the threat of drowning, especially

to children.
 

Did you know that drowning is the second leading cause of

unintentional injury-related death of children?

It only takes about two minutes without oxygen to lose consciousness

and within four to six minutes without oxygen, a child can have

irreversible brain damage.
 

Does that get your attention? Good, because the way to ensure that

kids are safe in and around a swimming pool is to have complete

supervision when they're swimming.

But what about when your pool is 'closed' and no one is allowed to

swim because there is no adult supervision? How can you be sure that

no one tries to sneak in for a swim?
 

Now there's a gadget called a Pool Alarm that can be turned on when

your pool is closed. The Pool Alarm comes with a remote receiver

which can be placed in your home up to 200 feet from the main unit

that is placed at the pool side.
 

The Pool Alarm can be a life saver because it is mounted to the side

of the pool and has an electronic sensor that detects any agitation

in the water other than ripples caused by the wind. When triggered,

the Pool Alarm will give off a very loud noise around the pool as

well as at the receiver placed inside your home.

That means that if the Pool Alarm detects any splashes in the water

(other than those caused by wind) it will set off the alarm. Now if

one of your children or anyone else tries to sneak a swim in your

pool -- or even if your dog falls in -- then the alarm will notify

you so you can get to the pool immediately. Then you can yell at the

kids and explain how dangerous it is to swim alone.

If you have a pool in your yard you have to always be on the alert so

that no children are swimming unsupervised. You also want to be

assured that no one is in or near your pool without your knowledge. A

Pool Alarm is your first line of notification that someone is fooling

around in your pool.

One other thing -- make sure you instruct everyone in your family and

in fact, everyone who uses your pool about safety. There are good

signs available that you can place near your pool with swimming

rules.

Remember, Safety First and Don't Be the Next Victim!