I would buy a cover for the pool. Everytime those kids came over without permission i would walk them back home. I would require a parent present if they wanted to play. If it didnt improve I would ban them from coming over and send a letter accordingly. Also put up no trespassing signs.

Getting a cover / fence seems the right thing to do in general.

In the interim, however, every single time you see them in your yard, escort them back and say you cannot watch them today. Do that every time until they get the picture.

This happened to us at our old house where we had a trampoline/tree swing. Very young neighbor children (I think like 4 & 6) were over at our house unsupervised 24:7. Different ages from our kids so it wasn't like they were all playing (ours significantly older). The most memorable was Memorial Day weekend at 7am! So, partially a privacy/noise issue. But mostly we were just terrified that something would happen to their kids. We talked to the neighbor adults about it & the kids never came over again without asking. Plus, we got rid of the trampoline & moved. But, it's hard to have small kids with 2 working parents so I had/have empathy. Definitely just give chatting with the parents a shot.

Anonymous wrote:Not OP... but what are the thoughts around liability if your HOA won’t allow a fence (unless you have a pool)? We’ve had neighbor kids one try to play in our yard but I’ve always made them leave if I saw them. But what if I hadn’t and they got hurt on anything in our yard? Kinda seems like that’d be trespassing, no?

We were told by a lawyer that to ensure you'd be covered in this situation you would have to post "no trespassing" signs every x (can't remember the number) of feet. No one wants to do that as it would look garish. Disclaimer: I haven't bothered to search the law to see if she was right.

You go out and yell at them to get the f out of your yard. This is not hard.

Anonymous wrote:With a 2 year old at home, I'm surprised your pool is so easily accessible

Be careful OP. Do you know the regulations for your pool in your county? Under your insurance policy? Often both require that a pool be completely fenced in. It depends on the size of the pool and where you live but you don't want to risk anything happening to one of the kids.

That said, I'd speak nicely to the parents about it before you get any more frustrated. Something along the lines of "you're kids are great and we'd like to have them over when we invite them but we have to ask that you make sure they don't come over uninvited. As you know, we have a pool and that necessitates some strict rules regarding access."

Anonymous wrote:If you cannot afford a fence, you cannot afford a pool.

+1 Drain the pool until you get a fence and pool cover. If it’s an above-ground pool, you could just also sell the pool. Having an unsecured pool is extremely irresponsible, OP. You didn’t know, but now you do.

If you cannot afford a fence, you cannot afford a pool.

What state are you in? Isn't it illegal to have a pool and no fence?

By above ground pool, do you mean like a blow up toddler pool with 6 inches of water? Because if you mean an actual pool, you REALLY REALLY need a fence and/or locking cover and preferably both. You have a TWO year old.

In fact, depending on where you are and the exact dimensions of your pool, you may legally need a fence w/ a specific kind of lock...

OP has a toddler and does not cover or fence her own pool - why would she care about the lives of other kids?

This is why we’re taking the liability angle. Money and jail talks more to the likes of OP.

A pool cover sounds cheaper. I think it’s about time to get the cops involved as a warning. Next time, you find them in your yard, call the cops on them for trespassing. They will then get the message.

Pay whatever you need to pay to get a fence immediately. You know that is the only way to go.

You need a fence.

Kick them out!