It's that time of the year again when families spend long hours in the pool, but the dangers that swimming for children presents are apparent. With these dangers, the New South Wales implemented new safety laws. But aside from stringent policies, what can families do to prevent children from drowning?

Children drowning are unfortunately common in these times when taking a dip in the pool is ideal. In fact, there are 35 Australian children under the age of five who drown every year, according to Royal Life Saving. Among all of these drowning, 50% of them happen in home swimming pools which proper steps can prevent.

However, awareness and supervision is not enough to prevent children from drowning. Because of the statistics that five children on average drown in backyard pools in NSW every summer, according to ABC News, NSW Government's new laws mandates backyard pools to be registered and checked.

But since the number of children drowning cannot be neglected so easily, what others do to prevent it?

The first thing on the check list of families with a pool is to have it fenced. The fencing should at least be 4 feet, or 1.2 meters tall, but what could possibly be a life saver is to prevent any gaps wider than 4 inches to form that any kid can squeeze through, according to Mayo Clinic.

Covers should also be used to block any access children may have to either the pool or hot tub. Inflatable pools must also be deflated as it too can pose problems. To further prevent any child from veering dangerously to where the pool is, installing an alarm could do the trick as it will sound off when anyone opens the door leading to the pool.

Pool and hot tub drains, one of the leading cause of accidents, should be enclosed, if not, at least do not allow children or anyone for that matter to sit or play near it as its suction can be quite strong.

Since supervision is a must when it comes to children playing in the pool, do not rely on inflatable flotation devices and vests of any kind in preventing children from drowning, according to KidsHealth.org, as these things can only give a false sense of security.

But probably the most basic and most important thing that can help save a child's life is to teach them how to swim. Though teaching a child in their tender age how to swim may not totally prevent anyone from swimming, it can at least reduce the odds.