A portable swimming pool can often be found in an Australian backyard, but new Griffith University research, conducted in partnership with UNSW Sydney, has discovered many parents and caregivers are unaware of safety requirements when it comes to portable pools, in particular legal obligations around fencing.
Professor Kyra Hamilton from Griffith's School of Applied Psychology surveyed 214 Australian parents and caregivers who owned a portable swimming pool and had children under the age of five years, to better understand how they think about safety, risk perceptions, and general pool knowledge.
"We found that while many parents recognised the importance of supervising children and emptying the pool after use, there were significant gaps in understanding the legal and safety requirements around pool fencing," Professor Hamilton said.
"Importantly, parents also perceived portable pools as less risky than permanent pools.
"This lower perception of risk was reflected in safety behaviours particularly the low rate of compliant fencing around portable pools."
Portable swimming pools presented a serious drowning risk to young children as they were often perceived as harmless due to their smaller size or shallow depth of water.
However, children could drown in just a few centimetres of water with incidents occurring quickly and silently.
The survey examined three key safety behaviours which were widely recognised as important for preventing a child from drowning:
- Active adult supervision
- Pool fencing
- Emptying and storing pools after use
The survey found 76 per cent of parents recognised the importance of supervision, and 89 per cent understood the importance of emptying a pool after use, however knowledge and compliance with fencing requirements was significantly lower as only 26 per cent identified fencing requirements, and just 19 per cent reported their portable pool was fenced.
"Portable pools are frequently installed temporarily and may not be surrounded by compliant safety barriers as some families may not associate them with the same safety requirements as permanent pools," Professor Hamilton said.
"The combination of easy access, inadequate barriers, and an underestimation of the associated risks can create a dangerous environment for young children, particularly those aged under five years.
"The findings highlight an important opportunity to strengthen drowning prevention efforts by improving parental awareness and addressing the perception that portable pools are low risk.
"Public health campaigns, product safety messaging, and regulatory enforcement all play a role in improving compliance with fencing requirements and other safety behaviours."
The paper 'Drowning Prevention in Portable Swimming Pools: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Parental Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Safety Practices' has been published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
