Lifeguards and fences for swimming pools

Another child dies in a pool. The parent thinks the toddler has run to the other parent. No, you can't rely on thinking so. You hand a child over to the other adult.

A child in a public area should be on reins. I was as a child.

Somebody commented, 'You can't have a lifeguard at every pool.' Yes, you can. You can have a receptionist stopping strangers getting in without paying. You just have to factor in the cost.

You can have a lifeguard in every pool. When I lived in the USA in Maryland there was a law requiring every pool to have a lifeguard. College students who wanted pin money at our block of flats did it. You had to have two lifeguards, otherwise you could not get insurance. The pool also had high netting like you get around tennis courts.

In Australia they found more people died in swimming pools than the sea so they introduced a law requiring all home swimming pools to be fenced with a locking gate. This was shown on one set of postage stamps which was what made me ask about it and look up the facts.