Silver Lining: poolside season is here (+ water safety tips for kids)

It's supposed to hit triple digits here in sunny Arizona today, and that can mean only one thing: it's officially swimming season. If you've been reading along for a while, you know how much I love swimming (ahem, see more Arizona swimming pictures here, here, here, and here, for starters). I'm excited to go multiple times a week this summer.

One of the best things about living in Arizona? There are pools everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. We're talking multiple pools on every street, and the housing complexes usually have at least two pools.

But with so much water exposure comes a heightened responsibility for myself as a mom to make sure my children are safe around the water. I take water safety very seriously, and it's very very important for me that my children are in safe water environments and are prepared for this potentially dangerous season.

That being said, there are some fairly easy and highly effective ways to make sure your children are safe at the pool. May is National Water Safety month, so it's a great time to get ready before you take your kids to the pool. (The ZAC Foundation's cute and informative website was a good place for me to start brushing up on water safety for kids.) Here are 6 ways I make sure my children are safe at the pool.

WEAR LIFE JACKETS

My daughter knows she has to be wearing her life jacket the entire time we're poolside. We put hers on with her swimsuit so she's already wearing it the second we walk in the pool area. I love our life jacket (found here), and I also love that it's US Coast Guard approved.

LOOK FOR FENCED-IN POOLS WITH AUTO-LOCKING GATES

To be honest, the first time I used our pool, I thought the auto-closing and auto-locking gate was annoying because I had to unlock and open it twice just to get all my people and all our stuff into the pool area. But really it was only a ten-second inconvenience, and it's so much safer, especially when you have a backyard pool where a child could wander out by themselves.

LEARN CPR

I get it, parents always have a million things to do, and if you're like me, things like taking a safety class can easily be moved to the bottom of the To Do list. But it's worth the time to take a refresher class or at least brush up online on your CPR skills for kids of all ages.

CHECK FOR A SAFE POOL DRAIN

Dangerous pool drains are flat on top, which increases the risk of hair or a body part being suctioned in the pool with hundreds of pounds of pressure. It's worth the few seconds it takes to check and make sure your backyard pool has a safe drain (safe drains are generally raised and have multiple sides so the entire drain can't be covered at once). This short video taught me all I needed to know about safe pool drains.

ENROLL YOUR CHILD IN SWIMMING LESSONS

My toddler's first swimming lessons will probably be this summer, and I'm excited for her to learn more about water safety and gain more confidence in the pool. Especially important for every child is learning how to float and tread water.

BE POSITIVE ABOUT WATER SAFETY

When we talk about water safety at our house, I try to be really positive. "You get to wear a life jacket to keep you safe" goes a lot farther than, "The pool is a scary place and you could drown if you take off your life jacket." We want our kids to know that the pool is a fun place, and as long as we follow a few safety guidelines, we'll have fun splashing and kicking all summer long.

I loved learning more about the incredible mission of the ZAC Foundation to keep children safe around water in conjunction with this post today. Click over to their cute site for printable graphics, short videos, and lots of information about water safety for children of all ages and in all seasons/ climates. A quick link to their parents page can be found here, and you can sign up for their newsletter here.