Does anyone have a pool?

[Rachels]

We do, and it scares the crap out of me now that Abby is mobile. We have a deck with a locking gate and then outside of that a fence with locking gates, but what else should we do? She is rarely out of my sight, but I keep hearing stories about toddlers sneaking out without their parents noticing for a few minutes. (My mom, who was VERY attentive when we were small, once got a phone call from a neighbor asking if she knew that I was dancing naked on the car. She didn't. I was less than two.) I can't quite imagine how kids sneak out without anyone noticing, but apparently it does happen, and having something to drown in in our back yard is freaking me out.

So what do we do? Do any of those floating alarms actually work? What other options are there? I'd love to have one of those retractable covers installed, but they cost a fortune and are just prohibitive at the moment.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

My best friend just bought a house with a pool. They are getting one of the fancy covers and a MUCH nicer fence than what is there now. The alarm couldn't hurt. Do you have a house alarm? Some of them are wired to chime every time a door opens and that might give you some peace of mind too. And I know a lot of people who have to keep their doors locked at all times or else their kids would be roaming the neighborhood!

[COElizabeth]

I was going to suggest the door alarm, too. My sister has it set so the alarm beeps when a door is opened. She doesn't have a pool, but she does have adventurous kids!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[Rachels]

That's a good idea. Hmm. Wonder if a beeping door thing would wake her up if we opened a door while she was sleeping?

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[COElizabeth]

I think it depends on how close the door is to the bed, and how deeply she sleeps. The beep at my sister's house really isn't that loud - much softer than a telephone ring, for example. When staying at my sister's house, James has occasionally been awakened by the door beeping, but he was sleeping in a room very close to the door. The other kids could not have even heard it, since their rooms are much farther away. You could always turn off the function at night, though that would be a pain to remember each day and night.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[heidi_timms]

I was recently at a home show and saw a net type thing that fits over your pool. It has a loose weave, but they showed a baby crawling on it. It looked really safe! I'm attaching a link with the product I'm talking about....

http://www.allsafepool.com/

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[votre_ami03]

I have a pool at home too. Our yard is fenced & my pool will have a seperate fence very (very!) soon. It is the law in my state that any house w/children under 6 yo must have a fence w/a self shutting gate. IMO, EVERY pool should have a fence. There was a case recently where a 3 yo drowned in a neighbor's pool.

Definitely keep anything away from the fence that she can climb on, no toys, chairs, tables etc. I have 3 sets of sliders in my house to the pool. I currently have locks down on the track of the doors & I know you can add a lock to the top of te door too. The alarm on the door or a laser type pool alarm also sound great! You can't have too many safe guards, imo. Also, be sure to lock any doggy/pet doors too.


I have seen the net thing IRL too at a home show. It seems very sturdy. I considered getting this for my blind dog (now deceased). The only thing I can see is, will you really put the net on after every use? I can't imagine so.


Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[sweetbasil]

We don't have a pool (my parents do, and have the turtle wristband alarms made for wearing around pools), but our alarm at home beeps any time a door or window opens. It's never awakened the boys, and really gives me peace of mind about the safety of our home, knowing when a door opens, etc.

[egoldber]

I think that's similar to what my friend is getting.

[ddmarsh]

I have read that the problem with the floating alarms is that it takes literally *seconds* for a child to drown and once that alarm sounds the child is already in the water so it really is not preventative which is the goal.

We have our doors wired to beep any time the door opens and it has given me such peace of mind. I just love knowing that anytime one of my children might decide to open the door - whether to look outside or wander :) - I hear about it instantly. We have an upstairs code pad in the upstairs hall as well so that I can hear it up there. Honestly with or without a pool I think they are wonderful.

[toomanystrollers]

IMO, pool alarms and door alarms give a false sense of security. I believe FLA changed the rules for vacation rental homes. At one time, alarms were sufficient but now FLA requires a mesh/pool fence surrounding the perimeter of the pool.

As for self-locking gates, my 2 1/2 yo ds has no problem opening them - they need to be reinforced with a padlock. I grew up with an inground pool and my mom, to this day, still uses a padlock on the gate.

[suribear]

Used to. We filled it in because I was really nervous about the safety issue! I did see a lot of different options, including pool covers (that are supposedly sturdy and easy to use), fences, alarms, etc... Ultimately, nothing takes the place of constant vigilance. You should plan on having at least a few of those safeguards in place. I wouldn't rely on just one thing.

You also have to watch out for neighbor's kids! At one point (after we got rid of the pool) our fence blew down during a storm. Had that happened while we still had it, we would have been liable for any injuries or, heaven forbid, deaths.

JMHO

Kris