Memorial Day is the traditional start of the summer vacation season, so it's a good time to remind parents of the critical importance of extra diligence when kids are in or have access to pools.
According to the Stew Leonard's grocery stores lost a young son to a drowning accident 16 years ago.
Twenty-one-month old Stew III drowned trying to retrieve a balloon that had drifted into the family pool. He was only out of sight for a moment.
Leonard and his wife, Kim, started the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation. Its mission: "to save lives through water safety education and awareness for both children and adults," its Web site says.
The Foundation provides scholarships for swimming lessons and safety equipment through local YMCAs and Swim America, a nationally certified learn to swim program offered by the American Swimming Coaches Association, and has helped more than 10,000 children learn to swim since 1990, the site adds.
The Leonards just released their second children's book, "Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck" addressing, as the foundation Web site puts it, "the skills and fears children face when they first start taking swimming lessons."
The Leonards' first children's book, "Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim" is, the Web site says, designed to be "a child's first guide to water safety, conveying the message of how to be safe near the water through the story of Stewie, a duck who wants to swim with the 'big ducks,' but is prevented from going in the water by his older sister until he learns the water safety rules."
Stew Leonard III joins The Early Show Monday from his home in Westport, Conn. to go over some critical pool safety rules.
Pool Safety Guidelines from the American Red Cross
Learn to swim. The best thing anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim. This includes adults and children. The American Red Cross has swimming courses for people of any age and swimming ability. To enroll in a course to learn to swim or improve your skills, contact your local Red Cross chapter.Never leave a child unobserved around water. Your eyes must be on the child at all times.Install a phone by the pool or keep a cordless or cell phone nearby so you can call 911 in an emergency.Learn Red Cross CPR and insist that babysitters, grandparents, and others who care for your child know CPR.Post CPR instructions and 911 or your local emergency number in the pool area.Enclose the pool completely with a self-locking, self-closing fence with vertical bars. Openings in the fence should be no more than four inches wide. The house should not be included as a part of the barrier.Never leave furniture near the fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence.Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it. A pole, rope, and personal flotation devices (PFDs) are recommended, as is a Red Cross First Aid kit.Keep toys away from the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.Pool covers should always be completely removed prior to pool use.If a child is missing, check the pool first. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool bottom and surface, as well as the surrounding pool area.Install safety tools such as fence or door alarms and a pool alarm.
Brian Dakss
Brian Dakss is a longtime New York-based editor and writer for CBS News, at the Radio network and with CBSNews.com. He has written and edited for NBC News, Dow Jones and numerous radio stations and been a radio anchor and reporter.