KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With summer months prompting swimming in lakes, rivers and pools, safety is a number one concern for parents.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children from one to four years old.
Randy Love, Aquatics Specialist for the city of Knoxville urges parents to take their children and families to pools with certified lifeguards, like Inskip Pool.
"Number one, swim in a pool that's left guarded with quality lifeguards," Love said. "Lifeguards that pay attention, that do not have cell phones or smartwatches."
However, a lifeguard is no substitute for parental supervision in and around a pool.
"Lifeguard your child," Love said. "It's everybody's responsibility when you have kids at home."
Here are some safety tips for pool time at home:
1. Gate pool areas or add alarms.
2. When there is a pool party or gathering, assign parents to watch the pool, and have them rotate. This ensures adults get a break, just like lifeguards.
3. Make rules: Set expectations that children can get in the pool when adults or parents are in the water or around the pool to supervise.
4. Have a safety plan: Have a phone to call 911, and have someone around who knows CPR.
Love said swim lessons are life lessons, and anyone can learn to swim or learn water safety at any age. The City of Knoxville is one place to find lessons, and Love said they work with any family's obstacles.
"The City of Knoxville is happy to take kids, parents, grandparents," Love said. "If it's low-cost or no-cost we can work through that. We'll find swimsuits. We'll teach you how to float on your back and recover."
Other resources for low-cost swim lessons: