As families use their above ground pools this summer, the potential for serious injury and drownings starts to rise. 

Dr. Christina Johns, the senior medical advisor for PM Pediatrics, has five safety precautions to keep kids safe:

Just because your child can stand in an above ground pool doesn’t mean parents can turn their backs. A child can drown in as little as six inches of water if they become submerged.

Above ground pools are shallow, no more than four feet deep, and not enough to prevent injuries to the feet, ankles, and legs (jumping) or head and neck (diving). Don’t push other kids in or jump on others in the pool. When accidents do happen, watch for numbness or vomiting, which can indicate neurological trauma and may be a true emergency.

Most above ground pools require a ladder to get in and out, and they can get slippery and cause injury. Just like there’s no running around a pool, there’s no rushing up and down a ladder.

Make sure you have an appropriately sized, Coast Guard approved PFD for your child. “Water Wings” and similar floats often give parents and caregivers a false sense of security, when in fact it is unlikely that these could actually save a life.

It goes without saying, but anything you have in your mouth while swimming (except your teeth and tongue) represents a choking hazard.

1. “Dry Drowning” is not real and kids who “swallow water” while swimming don’t need to be watched for days for signs of respiratory distress. Instead, parents should check for rapid breathing or an inability to speak in full sentences immediately after the event. If there are no respiratory symptoms or cough after about 4 hours following a water event, it’s unlikely that a breathing problem related to water will occur.

2. Waiting 45 minutes after eating before going back in the water is a total myth.

3. Clear pool water means that it is safe. False. Microbes can still exist in clear pool water, which is why the water needs to be sampled and tested regularly to ensure that the chemicals are appropriately balanced.