Child safety decks are essential when one uses a family pool. It is particularly important for young children below 5 years of age because as per studies, 350 children drown to death in the USA each year. It has been found that 77% of these children were missing for less than five minutes and 70% of them were not supposed to be near the home swimming pool at the time of the accident.

The problem lies in the fact that children are attracted to pools, so they may use the pool without adult supervision. This can be prevented by making the pool less enticing (by removing decorations and toys), less accessible by erecting barricades and installing alarm systems to curb unauthorized access. Child safety decks in particular limit the visibility and accessibility of the pool for kids. A barricade wall can be raised using a pulley system when the pool is not in use, thereby preventing access to the pool. The barricade can be lowered once it’s time to swim. Its success lies in the fact that since kids are unable to see the pool, they may not force the adults to go in until they find a supervisor. However, adult supervision is indispensable to complement the utility of the safety decks.

Additional installation may include child deck shield netting which prevents them from slipping and falling while moving on the balcony. The netting is generally made of plastic, and should be UV resistant in order to survive in the sun for a long time. The netting is tied to the deck posts made of fiber glass using cable ties. Child safety gates may also be installed which prevent children from entering or leaving a room. These can be easily assembled-disassembled by an adult. This is particularly important for infants who have just started crawling. These have a 2 feet high gate and netting on the sides so that children don’t grab anything across the fence.

A new product is the child safety harness which is tied to the upper body of the child. It’s generally short in length so as to restrict the child’s movement in any direction. Finally, alarms may also be installed coupled with infrared sensors to alert the adults in case of unexpected usage of the pool. It’s important to check the batteries regularly otherwise the alarm is of no use. All these small investments ensure the safety of your child.