How to Build a Family Pool Safety Plan (Free Printable Checklist)

Every pool safety article ends with “have a written family plan.” This is the article that actually writes it. It’s organized as a template you can copy, fill in, print, and post on the inside of your pool gate. The whole exercise — discussing it, writing it, posting it — takes about an hour and produces the single most useful pool safety document a family can have.

The plan covers four things: who watches the pool, what the rules are, what to do in an emergency, and how the family practices it. Nothing fancy. Just clear.

Why write it down

You probably already have a pool safety plan in your head. Everyone in your household probably has their pool safety plan in their head. The plans don’t match. When an emergency happens at 2:47 PM on a Saturday, the version everyone executes is a hybrid of misremembered fragments under stress.

A written plan does three things:

1. Surfaces disagreement before the emergency. Your spouse thought 911 was your job. You thought it was theirs. Glad we figured that out in May.
2. Reduces stress-induced freeze. When the brain knows the procedure, the body executes it. When it’s improvising, it pauses.
3. Onboards everyone fast. Grandparents, babysitters, houseguests, your kid’s friends’ parents — they read the plan in 90 seconds and they know what your house expects.

The template

Copy this. Fill in the brackets. Post it on the fence at the pool gate, laminated, in a weatherproof sleeve.

[YOUR FAMILY NAME] FAMILY POOL SAFETY PLAN

Address: [Your address — written out, including city, for paramedics] Pool location: [Backyard, fenced area through gate] Emergency: 911 — call from the phone on the pool table or your cell phone

Pool Rules

1. No swimming alone, ever. Buddy system or pool closed.
2. Tell a designated adult before entering the pool.
3. No diving in the shallow end. No diving anywhere if the pool is under 9 feet deep.
4. No running on the deck.
5. No alcohol or other substances in the pool area. [Adjust for adult-only events if applicable.]
6. No breath-holding contests or “see how long you can stay under” games.
7. Pool closes at [time]. [Set this for your house. Most families: at sunset, or 8 PM.]
8. No swimming during thunderstorms. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder.
9. House rule for cold-weather pool use: [your rules].
10. No glass containers inside the fence.

Who’s the Water Watcher

• During every family swim, one adult is the designated water-watcher. No phone, no book, no conversation that breaks eye contact with the pool.
• The role rotates every 20 minutes. Hand off explicitly: “You have water-watcher from 2:00 to 2:20.”
• For events with 8+ swimmers, two water-watchers minimum.
• For parties with alcohol, one adult stays sober and watches the pool, or a lifeguard is hired.

Adults Who Are CPR-Certified

[If no adults are currently CPR-certified, list that fact and the date by which someone will be. Then go book the class.]

If Someone Is in Trouble

STEP 1 — Get them out of the water.

• Reach with the shepherd’s crook (mounted on the [location] of the fence).
• Throw the life ring (mounted on the [location] of the fence).
• If they’re unconscious, enter the pool to bring them to the side.

STEP 2 — Call 911.

• The phone is on the pool table or in your pocket. Dial 911.
• Address: [your address, written out]
• Say: “Pool emergency at [address]. [Person] is [unconscious / not breathing / had a fall / etc.]. I’m starting CPR now.”
• Stay on the line.

STEP 3 — Start CPR if not breathing.

• See the CPR reference card in the first aid kit.
• 2 rescue breaths, then 30 compressions, then 2 breaths, then 30 compressions.
• Don’t stop until paramedics arrive or the person revives.

STEP 4 — Use the AED if available.

• [If you have one] Located: [location of AED]
• Turn on, follow voice instructions, apply pads, deliver shock if directed.

Roles During Emergency

When everyone is home:

• [Adult 1]: Pulls swimmer out of water, starts CPR if needed.
• [Adult 2]: Calls 911. Stays on phone. Meets paramedics at the gate.
• [Adult 3 or older child]: Herds other kids away from the scene. Brings first aid kit to [Adult 1].
• [Adult 4 or oldest responsible kid]: Unlocks gate, props it open for paramedics.

If only one or two adults are home: the first priority is rescue and CPR. The second priority is 911. The third priority is everything else.

Rescue Equipment Locations

• Shepherd’s crook: [mounted on fence near deep end]
• Life ring: [mounted on fence between gate and deep end]
• First aid kit: [in weatherproof container on fence near gate]
• AED: [if applicable, location]
• Phone: [pool table or in caregiver’s pocket]
• House key for paramedics: [where it’s kept; emergency responder access plan]

Annual Action Items

[Update these every spring before the first pool day.]

• CPR certifications current
• Pool fence inspected, gate self-latching, no climbable objects nearby
• Pool alarms tested
• Drain covers verified VGB-compliant
• GFCI outlets tested
• First aid kit checked; expired items replaced
• Life ring and shepherd’s crook inspected for damage
• Pool rules sign legible
• Pool insurance reviewed; umbrella policy adequate
• Pool chemicals stored safely (chlorine and acid separated)
• Family pool safety plan reviewed and posted

Guest Briefing

When a babysitter, grandparent, houseguest, or other adult will supervise the pool:

1. Walk them through the plan.
2. Show them where the rescue equipment is.
3. Explain the rules.
4. Confirm they can perform CPR (if not, no swimming allowed under their supervision; or hire a lifeguard).

Kids’ Briefing

At the start of every pool season, sit your kids down and read the rules out loud.

• “What happens if you see a friend in trouble in the pool?” Throw the ring, call for an adult.
• “What happens if there’s lightning?” Get out, get in the house, wait 30 minutes after the last thunder.
• “What happens if you’re tired?” Get out and rest. The pool isn’t going anywhere.
• “What happens if someone breaks a pool rule?” Tell an adult. Don’t try to enforce it yourself.

Practice Drill

Once a season:

1. Stage a “what if” — pretend the youngest child fell into the pool and is unconscious. Walk through the steps. Don’t actually pull anyone out; talk through what you’d do.
2. Locate the rescue equipment without touching it. “Where would you get the life ring? The phone? The first aid kit?”
3. Practice the 911 call. “What address would you tell them?”
4. Time it. Could you get the swimmer out, on the deck, with CPR starting within 90 seconds? That’s the target.

Signed and Dated

[Last reviewed: [date]. Re-review every spring before the first swim of the season.]

How to actually do this

The exercise of writing the plan is half the value. To make it productive:

1. Schedule the conversation. “Sunday afternoon, an hour, we’re doing the pool plan.” Treat it like any other family discussion.
2. Use the template as a starting point. Don’t try to write from scratch. The template covers the things that matter; you customize.
3. Walk the pool while filling it in. “Where’s the life ring? Where would the first aid kit go?” Make the plan match reality.
4. Print it. Two copies. One laminated for the gate, one on the fridge.
5. Read it out loud to anyone who’ll supervise. Five minutes. The reading is the install.

The plan is not a defensive document for after an incident. It’s a coordination tool for not having one. Most pool emergencies don’t end badly because the response was textbook — they end badly because the response was chaotic. The written plan, practiced once, removes most of the chaos.

For the inputs that go into the plan, see the pool safety checklist for homeowners, CPR for drowning victims, and pool safety equipment every pool should have.