# Anyone with a toddler & an inground pool?



## olien (Apr 21, 2008)

We have a pool & it is not fenced off from the rest of the yard (impossible to do the way its situated). I am getting really nervous with summer approaching. DS (19mo) loves water & I know he is going to want to be in there all the time. I have a few Q's

What kind of life jacket type device did you use or recommend?

Did you get an alarm? The type that sits on top of the water & goes off if something enters the pool.

Did your DC learn to swim quickly or did it take a few summers?

Did you put an extra lock of some type on your door leading to the yard? Ex like one up high that DC cant reach.

I was thinking of signing him up for swimming lessons, but its not an option now since I only have 6wks left in pg #2 & DH works 6 dys a wk.

Any other advice/thoughts are helpful.


----------



## Irishmommy (Nov 19, 2001)

We put a pool in when dd2 was 15 months. We never did the life jacket thing, I think it's a false sense of security.

The alarms are useless - wind blowing the water will set it off. We lasted about a week with ours before removing it.

Both kids did swimming lessons every summer from a year old, they are fish.

We have two doors to the back yard. The family room one has a magnetic lock up high that is not the easiest to open. Dd2 is almost 10, and is only recently able to reliably open that lock. The kitchen has French doors, so that lock doesn't work. But those doors open to a small deck, so we gated the top of the deck stairs, though just with a latch. Both those doors were locked all the time.

We have never had any issues. The only thing is that if dd has friends over to play (not swim), I have to be out there too, for everyone's comfort level.


----------



## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I would probably put an alarm on your exterior doors. That way if your LO leave the house and could potentially get to the pool you'll know. I'd also lockt he gate going back to the yard, less because of your child, but more so that another child doesn't go back there, drown, and you get sued.


----------



## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

can you install a pool net?
http://www.katchakid.com/
I'm sorry but I couldn't live in a house with a child and a pool and no fence/net. There are just too many what ifs.....


----------



## mommariffic (Mar 18, 2009)

We rented a house for two years with an in-ground pool, and we spent a bunch putting in a fence around it because I was not messing around with a toddler + a pool.

It was pricey but completely child proof and I could let DD play on the 1 acre we had without worrying she'd fall in if I turned my back to garden or something.

The pool we had was super strange - half of it was up on rocks/in the woods and they were able to accommodate us with a fence. You MAY be able to get a special pool fence put around if you work it creatively -- not sure of your space but if we could do it, I feel like anyone would.

DD taught herself how to swim but I wouldn't trust her around a pool, just NOT worth it


----------



## Lilypie32 (Aug 19, 2008)

I would definitely fence off the pool or get a pool net. There are fences for pools that are not permanent but can keep small children out. Swimming lessons are great but I read recently from a reliable source that children under the age of 4 do not truly grasp the idea of safely getting out of water if they fall in and they often panic and drown. If fencing is not an option I would put alarms on all entrances leading to the pool and/or special locks. Better safe than sorry!


----------



## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

We bought the Safety Turtle alarms (they are wrist watch kinda things) the kids wear, and they never went off in an emergency but were fool-proof every month when we tested them.

The kids would wear the "watches" when they were over at Gma & Gpa's house (they had the pool).


----------



## new2texas (Apr 20, 2009)

I would say get your child into swimming lessons ASAP. Make sure you go into a program that focuses on life saving skills. My two oldest, 4 and 2, learned to swim very quickly and within a couple months were able to pass their "float test". They simulate real life falling in the pool and throw them in with clothes on. However, even with being able to swim if they're in the pool I'm in the pool.

Basically what we have done is made our entire back yard a fortress that they can't get into with out an adult. The door from the house locks from the inside and the key is hung where they can't reach and the gate to the back is self latching with a very high latch. I'm more than a little bit paranoid about pool safety.


----------



## Eclipsepearl (May 20, 2007)

Dumb question but what are the laws where you live? Are you allowed to have a pool without a fence?

We don't have a pool. I refused because I'm from California where drowning stories abound. Also, it's too much work for the few months that we could use it here









I had friends that put up the fence per Californian law. I asked if they would do anything else and I got this rant from the dh, basically that kids should be watched by their parents and if a kid drowned in their pool because their parent wasn't doing their job, too bad, and so on...

A few months later, his wife came home to find the neighbor's kid swimming in the pool with another child. No, no one drowned, no problem. They were having fun. What was scary is that the mom was home at the time and she was "watching" someone else's toddler. Under her nose, the older kid took the younger one over to the other house, pulled over a chair, unhinged the top lock (that was totally legal and to standard) and then proceeded to have a nice swim.

Imagine if that had gone horribly wrong??

While in principal, I agree with the husband but the reality is quite different. Kids wander off and lead littler ones astray. So for your peace of mind, you might want to consider safety precautions to keep _other_ kids, not just your own, out of that pool when that is not the intention. Tragedies are best avoided but on a lighter note, what if a bunch of teenagers got in there while you were on vacation, even if nothing "went wrong".

Ugh!

Good luck finding a workable solution!


----------



## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Yea theres no such thing as too safe when it comes to pools. I have a 3 and a 5 year old and and inground pool. They've lived here their whole lives and its been ok but neither wants to swim which is tough.

Our yard is fenced as per the law but the pool is accessible from the back of our house (sliding door). It hasn't been a problem because while I get nervous at the beginning of each pool season, I remember the one main rule and that is no child is left unsupervised while outside. The kids know that they aren't supposed to open the slider but there's also a very high up lock thats hard to unlock even for me.

I would like a fence surrounding the pool itself but its not financially possible at the moment.

I do breathe a sigh of relief each fall when we close the pool!


----------



## NiteNicole (May 19, 2003)

We moved into this house when our daughter was 18 months old. Our backyard is about a half acre, fenced, and the pool is right off the back of the house with a brick surround. We had a safety fence installed (they drill holes in the brick or cement, the segments are tension mounted, and they will do any configuration you ask for, add as many gates as you need, etc, and you can take it down if you need to. It's fairly easy to take down and reinstall but not so easy a kid could get a segment out of the ground). It's ugly and it was expensive, but I feel better with it back there.


----------



## Evan&Anna's_Mom (Jun 12, 2003)

We moved into a house and pool when DS was 6 months old and before DD was even thought of. The FIRST thing we did was install a safety net. A fence would have been difficult and ruin a very expensive view, but the net was easy to do and flat. It wasn't cheap (about $1500 I think) but was non-negotiable for the kids safety. We chose one that I could do and undo on my own since I was frequently the one that had the kids in the pool, and always kept the pool covered when not actively in use (e.g. I recovered the pool as soon as the kids got out and before I started dinner, even if I thought we would be swimming again after eating.) I would never have been able to live without knowing that the kids were safe from drowning if I had to take my eyes off of them for a minute. I also was not interested in keeping them inside whenever I couldn't watch them - I wanted them to be able to play outside even if I needed to pee, YK?

I would definitely investigate safety fence/net/cover options before saying "it can't be done".


----------



## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Quote:

I would definitely investigate safety fence/net/cover options before saying "it can't be done".
I've done so thank you


----------



## Evan&Anna's_Mom (Jun 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MoonWillow* 
I've done so thank you









Sorry -- no offense meant, though your OP did only say that there wasn't a way to do a fence, but you didn't mention looking at other options.


----------



## leighi123 (Nov 14, 2007)

I would really look into the ISR lessons... kids can start as young as 6months and it only takes a few weeks before they learn what to do if they fall in the pool. It was well worth it!

They teach by using the way kids learn, so they learn quickly and it 'sticks', its much different than a regular swimming class.


----------



## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Evan&Anna's_Mom* 
Sorry -- no offense meant, though your OP did only say that there wasn't a way to do a fence, but you didn't mention looking at other options.

I said the fencing wasn't financially possible.









I am going to try again with lessons this summer. I try every year but my ds is reeaally not into it.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

When I was a kid my parents put a pool in when my youngest sibling was a toddler. They did YWCA swim classes, never had any incidents with the pool which was unfenced.

My dd was also raised with a pool ( she is 20 now) but I never did the official swim classes. I just taught her myself. Pool wasn't fenced, she did have an approved life preserver when she was small but we only put it on her when we were all outside using the pool. My daughter became a mermaid, she loves the water. Never had an incident. We had basic rules that she wasn't allowed outside without telling someone and an adult watching when she was small. After a certain age and her being an expert swimmer that wasn't required anymore but of course she had to tell us if she was going swimming ( sometimes the pool had been recently chemically treated ect and everyone had to wait to swim). She couldn't get the back doors open till she was much older. Combo of locks and bad sliding doors that required a lot of strength.


----------



## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Quote:

What kind of life jacket type device did you use or recommend?
I did a standard life jacket one summer for ds but the fact that he didn't even want to get in the pool just meant he was walking around with it on and getting big time overheated.


----------



## RiverSky (Jun 26, 2005)

Swim lessons and the ability to swim (especially for babies/toddlers) are NOT safety precautions for drowning. Kids can fall in, hit their heads on the side as they go, get tangled in stuff etc.

Why hasn't your landlord equipped the pool with a safety fence? There are definitely laws here that would require that. (Florida)

We have an inground pool right off two sliding glass doors and a bathroom door. When our children were younger, we always had the safety fence up, plus magnetic alarms on all windows and doors which led to the pool, though those alarms are extremely annoying and break easily. Regardless of what safety measures you might have, you are simply going to have to be VIGILANT and you will find that any time that little ones are too quiet, you are going to freak out, wondering if they somehow got out to the pool.


----------



## RiverSky (Jun 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MoonWillow* 
I said the fencing wasn't financially possible.









Not exactly.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MoonWillow*
(impossible to do the way its situated)

I also read what you wrote and figured you hadn't looked into enough fence options. When we got our flexible net safety fencing for our pool, it only cost $450 to enclose one long side of it (which was enough to close it off and which was way less than 3 other companies quoted me). Have you gotten any quotes? If I were you, I'd get lots and lots of quotes, then approach your landlord to help you pay for it as it will lower her/his property insurance.


----------



## Irishmommy (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MoonWillow* 
I said the fencing wasn't financially possible.









I am going to try again with lessons this summer. I try every year but my ds is reeaally not into it.


See if you can find an instructor that will come to you. Dd2 has only ever had lessons at home - the instructor comes every day for 2-3 weeks, 1/2 an hour a day, and that was plenty. She goes up a grade level at least every year.


----------



## almadianna (Jul 22, 2006)

I have to say I would not be comfortable with no fence and no swimming lessons. My kids have been in swimming lessons since they were 6 months old, year round, twice a week. I would not change that.

If we could not use a fence or have a katchakid (would prefer the fence though) I would cover up the pool. I have had one too many bad experiences around me with this. Kids in trouble dont splash around and make noise to alert you and it only takes a minute.


----------



## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Irishmommy* 
See if you can find an instructor that will come to you. Dd2 has only ever had lessons at home - the instructor comes every day for 2-3 weeks, 1/2 an hour a day, and that was plenty. She goes up a grade level at least every year.

I do have my sister who is a lifeguard (and teaches lessons) try every summer. Maybe a different instructor would have some luck though.


----------

