PADDLING pools are a great way for kids to cool off during hot weather.
But used incorrectly, they can be a serious health hazard, experts warn.
There are seven common mistakes in particular that could prove fatal.
Here, The Sun explains how to avoid them so you can keep your water-loving little ones safe as temperatures soar.
1. Leaving kids alone
If your child is happily playing in the garden, it can be easy to assume you're OK to briefly leave them unsupervised.
But it only takes a few minutes to drown, so doing so could be deadly, according to the Royal Lifesaving Society UK (RLSS).
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Charity director Lee Heard previously told The Sun: "Sadly, drowning can happen very quickly, so it’s vital to ensure that you do not leave your child alone when they are in or near water.
"Never leave them unsupervised."
2. Not emptying the pool between uses
Once swimming time is over, it might cross your mind to leave the water in the pool to save refilling it the following day.
But it's vital to empty it as soon as you're finished with it to prevent your child coming across it while alone, experts say.
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Hannah Smith, director of aquatics at Water Babies, said: "Paddling pools are great fun in the garden on a hot summer's day, but always keep water safety a priority, even if your children are in a paddling pool with just a few inches of water."
3. Covering it in a sheet
Over the summer, the internet was flooded with videos from mums sharing what they described as a "paddling pool hack".
This involved covering the pool in an old sheet to keep bugs out and save water.
But doing so could actually prove fatal as it puts youngsters at an increased risk of drowning, a swimming instructor Nikki Scarnati warned.
The mum, who issued the advice in a video on TikTok, told her followers: "This is not a hack, it's a complete drowning risk.
"A child can drown in an inch of water in 20 seconds.
"Leaving a kiddie pool out with water in it is already a drowning risk.
"So don't put a blanket on top of it, because if they fall into it or on top of the blanket, they are going to roll around trying to get out.
"They're going to get wrapped up in that blanket and they're not going to be able to get back up."
4. Not turning the pool upside down
Once the pool is empty, it's important to turn it upside down.
"This means that water, from a rain shower for example, cannot collate in the paddling pool if it is left upright and become a potential hazard," Lee said.
At least 26 children aged 14 and under lost their lives to accidental drowning in the UK in 2022, he added.
5. Staying in full sun
When splashing about in a cool paddling pool, it's easy to forget how strong the sun's rays are.
Even with proper protection, kids are easily burnt and dehydrated.
It is therefore important to keep your pool, and tots, in the shade, Dr Sarah Jarvis, an NHS GP, said.
6. Using water that is too cold
If being used by children, the water in paddling pools should be at least 29C, according to Water Babies.
But if your helping a baby under 12 weeks or 12lbs take a dip, it must be a minimum of 32C.
A spokesperson said: "Older babies can swim in 30C pools and toddlers under two years can swim in 29C pools so long as they are wearing a wetsuit."
Professor Mike Tipton, who specialises in extreme environments, told The Sun last summer: "The response to sudden cold water immersion can cause a range of physiological responses, such as gasping and hyperventilation, that can quickly result in drowning.
"There is also a sudden increase in blood pressure and the strain placed upon the heart that can result in heart problems."
7. Using potentially dangerous floats
Finally, parents shouldn't strap their kids into pool floats with canopies overhead, Nikki, from Florida, US, warned.
She said the shade-providing devices – designed to let youngsters lie on their backs or stomachs in the water – can easily flip over and leave your child face down in the water.
As they're buckled into the inflatables, they have no way to turn over again and can quickly drown.
"All it takes is for a child to lean forward a little too much and they're going to flip over," she said.
"And if they do flip over, they're strapped into this device so it's going to be more difficult for you to remove your child and get them poolside to evaluate them.
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"The canopy could get stuck on top of them so it's going to be extremely hard for you to find your child and pull them out."
Good alternatives, Nikki said, are clear-bottomed inflatable rafts and mesh loungers, but overall it's best not to use floats at all.
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