"The family swimming online parenting classes is supposed to be the center of fun and recreation," said Todd Appleman, president and founder of http://www.eSafetyAlert.com, a safety products company that offers the one-of-a-kind Safety Turtle® immersion alarm that sets off a piercing siren the instant a child falls into the water.
"The problem is swimming pools are very dangerous for young online parenting classes , particularly toddlers. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under five and is the second leading cause of death for children under 14."
Appleman feels so strongly about helping to prevent drowning incidents, in 2004 he launched an educational website, http://www.PoolSafetyNetwork.org featuring online parenting classes about swimming pool safety and numerous links to respected government and non-profit sources.
"We have a long way to go in educating the online parenting classes " said Appleman. "Despite extensive local public awareness efforts, and well-funded national public education campaigns aimed at teaching parents, grandparents, and other adults about pool safety and active adult supervision, the number of children drowning each year has remained constant."
"I am very concerned about child online parenting classes on two levels," said Appleman. "First, parents and adults are not getting the message, or they are not practicing what they know. Second, the exposure for more of these tragedies to occur is daunting as the swimming pool industry continues to grow at a rapid pace."
"The swimming pool and hot tub online parenting classes is now a booming $20 billion industry - and it is growing - 11.4 percent in just the past two years," said Appleman. Citing 2004 data recently released by the National Pool and Spa Institute (NPSI), Appleman added, "There are 7.6 million backyard swimming pools in the U.S. and 6.4 million residential hot tubs. This translates into 14.7 million points of exposure."
"At the same time, public online parenting classes and awareness programs have not had the impact that safety experts had hoped for," said Appleman. "We need to be more effective in reaching parents with the messages about active parental supervision and precautions known as 'layers of protection' - the barriers that pool owners can put in place to help minimize the danger."
This gap in online parenting classes and lack of action among parents, became acutely apparent in 2003 when http://www.eSafetyAlert.com, and Terrapin Communications, the company that designed and markets Safety Turtle, commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a national poll among adults regarding pool safety and the precautions that can minimize drowning tragedies. Only 19 percent of the parents that responded were aware that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among children under five. Even worse, only 41 percent of the respondents said they have CPSC recommended "layers of protection" installed around their pools.
Layers of protection start with a door chime Online Parenting Classes that sounds when doors leading to the pool area are opened. Most importantly, ASTM-standard fences that completely surround the swimming pool with self-closing access gates equipped with a child-proof alarms are essential. Other layers of protection include an automatic or retracting pool safety cover, and an ASTM approved pool alarm.2
"Barriers help keep children from entering the pool area, or the pool," said Appleman. "While these layers of protection are crucial for any home where children are present, an alarm such as Safety Turtle, introduced in 1998, is what we consider the 'last line of defense.' Should a child find a way into the pool or spa, an alarm sounds the instant the wristband sensor makes contact with the water."
http://www.PoolSafetyNetwork.org