Would you consider a pool when you have 2 young children

[Anonymous]

lots of dramatic posters here.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We have had a pool since before my now 9 and 6 year olds were born. Love it.

There is an alarm on the back deck that leads out to the pool. The pool has a gate around it. The yard has a fence around it. There are rules about using the pool that my kids and their close friends know (nobody is to be left alone in the pool, nobody goes in by themselves, an adult has to okay going in, gate is always to be closed, etc.)

Never been a problem. Now my kids swim very well, so I just insist one adult be in the kitchen (windows overlook pool) if not out on the deck. When they were younger someone had to be on the deck. When they were babies/toddlers someone had to be IN the water with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Really?

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of the concerns raised here can be dealt with by having good safety measures in place as other people have mentioned. We bought a house with a pool when our eldest was an infant. First thing we did was put in a six foot high pool fence around it - it has self-latching gates and you need to be at least 5 feet to access them (from an aesthetic point of view, there are a lot of different options for pool fences, it doesn't have to be an eyesore. That, plus clear rules about pool use and making sure adults are around when kids are in the pool helps me be happy with it. We have three kids under the age of 6 and we love having the pool. I would just hate to have to gather everything together to leave the house to go to a pool. Plus it's nice to be able to take a dip in the moonlight when the kids are asleep!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Really?

Yes. Really.

[Anonymous]

Only if you could fence it off with an iron gate AND have enough yard to also have a grass area to play in. A lot of the houses in my price range that had pools had small lots so your whole backyard was basically a pool.

[Anonymous]

Not a chance.

[Anonymous]

No

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely not buy a house with a pool for three reasons.
1. It isn't safe for young kids. Even older kids and teens can have accidents. Sure you can make it safe by never letting your kid out of your sight. But if you have a pool you are signing yourself up for helicopter parenting.
2. They are alot of money and work to maintain.
3. The weather here is too cold for swimming except in July and August. But I'm from the South so I get cold easily.

[Anonymous]

We built a pool for our child, before we had him. Many safety measures and constant supervision. He's now 8 and so glad we did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We have had a pool since before my now 9 and 6 year olds were born. Love it.

There is an alarm on the back deck that leads out to the pool. The pool has a gate around it. The yard has a fence around it. There are rules about using the pool that my kids and their close friends know (nobody is to be left alone in the pool, nobody goes in by themselves, an adult has to okay going in, gate is always to be closed, etc.)

Never been a problem. Now my kids swim very well, so I just insist one adult be in the kitchen (windows overlook pool) if not out on the deck. When they were younger someone had to be on the deck. When they were babies/toddlers someone had to be IN the water with them.

This is us

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would absolutely not buy a house with a pool for three reasons.
1. It isn't safe for young kids. Even older kids and teens can have accidents. Sure you can make it safe by never letting your kid out of your sight. But if you have a pool you are signing yourself up for helicopter parenting.
2. They are alot of money and work to maintain.
3. The weather here is too cold for swimming except in July and August. But I'm from the South so I get cold easily.

We open our pool in April and close it in October and kids love love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Really?

+1
Yes, a kid can drown in a bucket, or a toilet (what neurotypical kid sticks their head in the toilet?), but I don't leave buckets of water sitting around the house. Plus, you'd have to work at drowning that way. Full bathtubs and boiling water and open ovens? These are things that don't last long whereas a full pool is a danger all day long. (And the street is public and has other uses; the pool is purely recreational) If you want to trust that your little kid is disciplined enough not to go outside when you aren't looking, go ahead. But it's disingenuous to pretend a pool is just like those other things.

I wouldn't do it either, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Really?

Yes. Really.

Then you're not too bright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would absolutely not buy a house with a pool for three reasons.
1. It isn't safe for young kids. Even older kids and teens can have accidents. Sure you can make it safe by never letting your kid out of your sight. But if you have a pool you are signing yourself up for helicopter parenting.
2. They are alot of money and work to maintain.
3. The weather here is too cold for swimming except in July and August. But I'm from the South so I get cold easily.

LOL. I'm from Michigan and we would be swimming from May through September! And in lakes, not heated pools.