Cyprus pool safety: the problem 
All of us enjoy a good splash in the swimming pool on a hot summer's day, yet many are oblivious to the dangers which pools pose all year round to families with young children. Each year there are swimming pool tragedies in Cyprus which not only cause grief to the immediate family, but heart-ache to the extended family and neighbourhood.
So what is the problem and how does it arise? The problem is that the same expanse of water which provides fun and cool relief on a hot sultry day, is also a potentially deadly killer for children, particularly those in the age range 0 - 6 years. Water with it's rippling, shimmering appeal is a magnet for children. Under the age of six, children have no fear of water and no concept of death; they associate water with play and not with danger.
Therein lies the problem. Allow yourself to be distracted for just 2 or 3 minutes (a phone call, a knock at the door, or a chat with a neighbour) and your child, or grandchild, could wander out to your swimming pool and tumble in. Chances are you wouldn't even be aware, for contrary to expectations, drowning is not accompanied by loud noise or splashing sounds - drowning is silent.
Most countries with the same pool density per head of population as Cyprus have strict laws governing swimming pool child safety. In Australia, for example, council officials visit residential properties every two years to ensure compliance with pool safety regulations. In France, you can be fined €45,000 for non-compliance with their stringent safety laws. Most states in the USA take pool safety very seriously and insist on restricted access to domestic swimming pools by young children. Penalties abound for non-compliance, together with the inevitable risk of being sued if a friend's, or neighbour's, child is involved in a pool tragedy.
Cyprus of course, is a relatively small country, and the emergence of a significant pool-owning community a fairly recent phenomenon. Consequently, there are few regulations relating to domestic swimming pool access by young children. It is possible that things may change following Cyprus's recent accession to the EU; but of course, regulation and awareness take time to be introduced. The Cyprus government is concerned at the current level of pool tragedies and has expressed a desire to reduce the level of swimming pool fatalities.
In the meantime, it falls to parents to foresee, and prevent, such tragedies in their own home environment. And if you're a property-owning investor renting out property, the threat - in an increasingly litigious society - of being sued in the event of a pool accident, should provide additional incentive...if ever an incentive were needed.
