Megan Haggan explores an issue of vital importance to all parents this summer.

It was a hot day in Laidley, Queensland. Hannah Plint, 34 months, was impatient for a swim.

A confident swimmer, the previous day she had swum the length of the backyard pool without her back float. She was excited about trying it again.

While her mother, Katherine, changed her brother’s nappy, Hannah quietly opened the front door, took a chair from the side of the house onto the verandah and climbed up to open the pool fence.

It isn’t certain what happened next but Katherine believes Hannah was startled by a pet and fell into the pool.

“The doctors later told me that Hannah was shocked by the cold water into cardiac arrest within 45 seconds,” Katherine says. She found Hannah floating in the pool seconds later.

Katherine had done everything right: Hannah could swim, and the Plints always ensured she was supervised by adults when in the pool. Hannah had been taught never to go into the pool area alone. Katherine knew CPR and worked on her daughter for 14 minutes until the ambulance arrived.

“But you can’t drown-proof kids,” Katherine says, crying.

The Plints formed Hannah’s Foundation, a drowning prevention, awareness and support network (www.hannahsfoundation.org).

“It upsets me when people say their kids can swim to save themselves; they think they’re safe,” Katherine says. “At most swimming lessons, kids aren’t taught what to do if they get into trouble. If they fall into water, they’re disoriented and panic.”

According to The Royal Life Saving Society of Australia (RLS), every year 35 children under the age of five drown. Half of these drownings occur in backyard pools. Small children are in the greatest danger during busy times, such as meal preparation, particularly if there are multiple siblings for parents to keep track of.

“That’s when the pool fence comes into its own,” says Rob Bradley, chief executive officer of RLS.

While pool safety legislation has evolved and new pools are held to a higher safety standard, older pools can pose a serious risk. Even though older pools are required to be fenced by law, these fences may deteriorate over time.

“The backyard is a dynamic environment and just because you installed a fence 10 years ago, doesn’t mean it’s a secure environment now,” Bradley says. “We want every home pool owner to make sure their pool is secure – check the gate, the latch and hinges; make sure there are no gaps under the railings that a child could get through. Look at surrounding trees, to see whether a branch has grown to let a child climb the tree and get up and over the fence.”

Bradley urges homebuyers and renters to consider the safety of the pool in their new home. “Maybe we need to work on shared responsibility, so houses shouldn’t be sold or rented unless all parts of the property are compliant, including the pool.”

Hannah’s Foundation is pushing for just that. When Katherine and her husband, Andrew, bought their property, they requested on the contract that the sellers ensure the pool and all structures on the property were safety compliant. The pool was non-compliant but the Plints weren’t notified. After Hannah’s death, their local council told them the pool was not approved and was built without a permit, application plans or owner-builder licenses.

The Plints hope that recommendations from Hannah’s upcoming coronial inquiry will help their crusade to ensure older pools are compliant with current laws and make all levels of government enforce this legislation. However the RLS warns that while compliant fencing, supervising children near water and teaching them to swim are the bare basics of drowning prevention, they do not immunise children against it.

Here are some tips to help minimise the risk of drowning:

•    Ensure your pool is safe and secure. Download a pool-safety checklist or arrange a professional inspection at www.royallifesaving.com.au.
•    At social gatherings near the water, appoint a designated child supervisor and identify them with a colourful hat.
•    Teach children to swim but don’t assume this completely protects them.
•    Empty and store small inflatable pools when not in use.
•    Keep lids on nappy buckets, as well as other buckets and containers, or store them out of reach.
•    Be CPR qualified and up-to-date in first aid.
•    Add a second lock to pool gates for extra protection.