if you own a pool, how do you keep kids safe?

[Anonymous]

We have a pool at our house in Florida . Ours is in a screened lanai with a locked door to the yard. The sliding glass door from the family room to the pool has a regular lock and we installed a lock at the very top of the door. When the kids were little they couldn't reach it even if they stood on a chair.

We had a pool alarm when the kids were little.

By far the most important- My kids were good swimmers by about two years old. They couldn't necessarily swim across the pool at that age, but they could jump in, turn around, and swim to the side of the pool.

[Anonymous]

We had a pool net installed to cover the pool and prevent kids from being able to submerge their face if they fall onto it. Plus all the doors to the house are alarmed. Having the pool uncovered even inside a fence just makes me nervous. What if his forbid the gate is unlocked or they pull something up to the fence to climb over. No thank you. Get a pool net.

[Anonymous]

Six foot high fence with self-latching gates (this is the current in MoCo now anyway). Doors to outside can only be opened by a grown-up and like the above poster mentioned - when there's several people around, one person is designated to watch the kids. We've mulled getting an alarm but remember reading something about them not actually decreasing accidents - probably for the reasons the pp mentioned - by the time it sounds, it might be too late to prevent damage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We taught them to swim.

Doesn't help if nobody is around when they crack their head on the bottom of the pool.....

I don't let my kids swim alone, etc.

[Anonymous]

Our kids (3 and 5) aren't allowed out in the front and back yards without us knowing. They know that. If we are in the pool and have to go in for a sec, everyone gets locked out of the pool area until we are back. I agree that even if they know how to swim, crap happens.

We never got a pool alarm because we have so many trees and lots of wildlife so the surface of the pool is always being struck by something.

[Anonymous]

Careful with doors that can't be opened. Fire hazard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't allow electronic devices and fences to give you a false sense of security!!

The child of an acquaintance was able to get through a security gate and even though he had started swimming lessons (under 2 years old at the time of the accident), by the time his parents got to him and administered CPR, he had severe brain damage. He was airlifted to a pediatric trauma center and after a few days his parents had to make the agonizing decision to withdraw life support.

Electronic devices fail, all the time.

This brings tears to my eyes.Oh my God.

[Anonymous]

electric pool cover. supports up to 150lbs walking on it.

[Anonymous]

I believe in Fairfax County that you do not have to fence a pool if your house sits on a certain number of acres (5 maybe).

[Anonymous]

Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. . . . . . .

[Anonymous]

swim lessons, they all know how to swim but my third is not a strong swimmer yet.... and we have an automatic pool cover that is always closed when not in use. My kids are not allowed on the pool deck at all even when playing in the backyard w/o adult supervision. They know the consequences of being on it when not allowed. When the pool is open there is ALWAYS an adult present either in the pool or near the pool....b/w the 3 adults that live in the house, there is always lifeguard duty between us.

[Anonymous]

Teach them how to swim ASAP.