Would you consider a pool when you have 2 young children

[Anonymous]

Aren't pools more dangerous than guns in the house? Especially when you factor in the number of houses with pools vs the number of houses with firearms.

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to have a pool, but they're dangerous. They're as dangerous as guns in the house. More kids drown in home pools than get shot in the US.

[Anonymous]

We bought a home with a pool 2 years ago. Our youngest was almost 3, our oldest 5.
I wasn't thrilled about having a pool.
One thing we thought about doing (but didn't) is get a retracted cover, so when the pool is not actively used, it's covered. They have hard ones that can be be walked on.
The one thing that brought me comfort was the locks to all doors to the backyard were inaccessible to kids. One door has 3 locks. Overkill, yes, but worth the safety.
Now that the 7 year old can comfortably swim and the almost 5 yr old is learning, I feel somewhat better. But I will still not leave the younger one outside while I go inside for "a minute". It annoys him to leave the pool when I need to go to the bathroom or grab something, but his safety is more important than convenience.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, that pretty much confirms my fears and I tend to be the over protective type so I'd probably be a basketcase with a pool in the yard. (OP here) It makes me anxious just thinking about it but I thought maybe if some people had great stories about having a pool I would consider. Good points about the maintenance too. It would be nice a few yrs down the line but oh well... I think I'll stick with no pool. thanks.

[Anonymous]

Only if I had a giant yard, enough money to hire someone to maintain it and there was no neighborhood pool for us to join. They seem like kind of a pain.

[Anonymous]

we moved somewhere hotter where we could use a pool probably 6-7 months out of the year. Kids were 3 & 5 when we were looking for a house and a pool was an absolute no-go for me. Aside from the overall safety concerns I want a house / yard where I can just let the kids roam at will, and thought (correctly) that that would have a much bigger impact on our quality of life. I absolutely LOVE being able to just let them come and go from the house and yard at will.

Of course, we also lucked out and wound up with a house a quick 4 block walk from a wonderful community pool, so to me that is perfect. But if I had to pick between pool at home or drive to pool but yard kids could play in freely, with young kids I would absolutely go for drive to pool.

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't consider a pool no matter what. Too much maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely!
1) Kids will not be little forever, once they learn to swim, they would love the pool and you will too. Foregoing this for a few short years when you have to really keep an eye on them, it silly.
2) Babyproof. Make sure the pool is fenced and kids cannot get in, if they cannot get in, it's safe. Now, you just have to make sure to constantly watch them if you are together by the poolside for a few years until they are older. Same thing, like you have to watch your little ones around the house or playground, common sense.
3) In this climate, summers are unbearable unless you are in the water. Having a pool, you don't have to deal with crowds and traffic at beach towns every weekend, or pay resort fees to be cramped into a room, so that you can do exact same thing you can do at home - lay out by the pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't pools more dangerous than guns in the house? Especially when you factor in the number of houses with pools vs the number of houses with firearms.

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to have a pool, but they're dangerous. They're as dangerous as guns in the house. More kids drown in home pools than get shot in the US.

I come from the area where most homes had pools and nobody was that paranoid, even while kids were little. People on this site are crazy paranoid. Why would you not watch your kid at the pool, when you have to watch them everywhere else anyway, while they are little? Are pools as dangerous for older kids, who know how to swim? Aren't pools supposed to be fenced anyway to prevent anyone from getting close? I understand posters, who don't like the idea of owning a pool, due to maintenance or the fact that there aren't enough weeks in a year to enjoy it, or because their yards are too small and they need more space for something else. Those, who dismiss homes with pools just because they are dangerous for unsupervised little kids, make no sense. Many things are dangerous for unsupervised little kids. That's why you watch them. You don't disconnect electricity for a few years, just because little kids can chew on electric cords, you don't throw away all small objects a toddler can swallow, you just hide them away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a single house we toured had a pool, so I'm guessing we're in a different tier of housing, but no, I would not want a pool. I would LOVE to be able to walk a couple of blocks to a pool (we have to drive), but I'd rather that be someone else's problem. A family member who has one is always complaining about the maintenance, which you could outsource, but I wouldn't want all the people who'd pretend to be my friend and the burden of keeping someone else's kids safe.

Why do you have to sign up to keep someone else's kid safe? If they come over, they must watch their kid, period. Are you supposed to hire a life guard for your pool? When you invite other little kid for a playdate are you as paranoid, if they get injured inside your home, or choke on some object they brought in their pocket from outside? Don't invite kids without an adult to watch them, period. Don't offer babysitting services, and you are fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never in a million years.

I would rather have a full arsenal of guns in the house than a pool with young kids.

Wow, aren't you smart. I suppose you never go to resorts with pools either, or go anywhere near a lake or an ocean, or wash your kids in a bathtub with that level of paranoia.

[Anonymous]

I moved from DC to FL. I did not want a pool, but in FL, for resale, you really need a pool. Most people except pools. So, we got a house with a pool 4 years ago when we moved here. My DD is 2.5; we have another on the way.

We have a pool fence and we always have the doors locked to the outside and she is never unsupervised. Ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never in a million years.

I would rather have a full arsenal of guns in the house than a pool with young kids.

I have a full arsenal and a pool. The kids like to float on a raft in the pools and shoot birds as they fly overhead. It's really not a problem because I've taught them gun safety and they know how to swim. They are also in the Advanced Academics program. I'm blessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never in a million years.

I would rather have a full arsenal of guns in the house than a pool with young kids.

I have a full arsenal and a pool. The kids like to float on a raft in the pools and shoot birds as they fly overhead. It's really not a problem because I've taught them gun safety and they know how to swim. They are also in the Advanced Academics program. I'm blessed.

You beat me to it! We have a pool and an arsenal as well.

[Anonymous]

Kids can drown in toilets and buckets of water, bathtubs. They can pull boiling pots of water down onto themselves. They can touch the inside of the oven while you are pulling the roast out. They can run out an opened door and into the street.

With little kids you have to be vigilant and you have to baby/kid proof and teach them rules from the get go. Horrible accidents can still happen but in all honesty I don't know that a pool is any more dangerous than a million and one other things that you might have in/around your house.