So today I saw a news segment on TV about parents installing safety fences around their pools to keep their kids from falling in and drowning. Thus begins my very short rant/PSA.

Teach your kids how to swim. Don’t simply rely on a fence; it especially won’t help your kid long-term when they are somewhere without one. Of course, swimming lessons alone won’t always prevent drowning, hell this is just as true for adults as it is for children, but the knowledge that they gain from lessons will make them much better off. Furthermore, the younger you are the easier it is to learn something like swimming, plus you’re less likely to be scared of water (children are fearless, that is until learnt otherwise—for better or worse).

Pool safety starts with proper knowledge, not (just) physical barriers.

Obligatory pertinent quote: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. (Translated: give a kid a fence and you protect him for a day; teach a kid to swim and you protect him for a lifetime. Or something like that.)

Oh, and learn CPR would you.