How do you protect your little ones from the pool?

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JayBauman

JayBauman

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Sep 5, 2014
616
Katy, TX
Right now, we're in the middle of our pool build. You can follow all the fun and excitement here. At our last house, it was easy to put in a pool in the back yard and put up a wrought iron fence to completely isolate the pool...the only entry was through a gate that could be locked. This allowed us to worry a bit less about my toddlers finding their way into the water.

Due to the configuration of our current yard, there isn't a practical way to do this again. My twins are 4, so I still need to make sure they do not find their way to the water without our knowledge. However, they kids are getting older so I really only need a "temporary" solution for the next few years. Construction has begun, so I have a large dangerous hole in the back yard and our perimeter fence is missing a few sections for the next month or so.

My wife and I have thought about this quite a bit, and here is what we have implemented:
  1. Installed the door alarms, as required per code. My city requires this, but they "trust" that we actually do the installation. I have signed the papers saying I have done this, but we actually have installed the alarms. And let me tell you....they work! I'm glad we don't have any next door neighbors yet, because they would get annoyed every time we forget to hit the alarm bypass button when we open the door.
  2. I have changed the deadbolt locks on both exterior doors with direct access to the pool (rear door, garage service door) to require a key for both inside and outside. We then have a key mounted at a height of 6 feet near each door, so you have to intentionally pull down the key and unlock the deadbolt. My kids will be competent swimmers long before they are clever enough to figure out how to avoid this deterrent.
  3. Per code requirements, I have added auto-closure feature to outside gate and raised the handle to meet minimum height requirements. If the kids get out the front door, it won't be easy for them to enter the back yard through the gate.

This exhausts my imagination on how to minimize the danger associated with our small children and the pool. Each countermeasure has an automatic redundancy, so I feel somewhat better. The only other things I could think of would be to install a safety net or pool safety fence around the water. For various reasons, neither option is practical for our situation.

What have you guys done? Is there something else we should be considering? Anyone inspired by our recent safety actions? Please let me know.

Thanks,
Jayson
 
I agree with JohnT. While we were building our house, we had to move into an apartment for a short period of time. The place had a pool. We used to oportunity to teach our twins boys how to swim. They were 3 at the time. They are like fish in the water now.
 
We were also at a crossroads when it came to this. After weighing several different options, our plan of attack is:

1) Installing magna latches on our two yard gates to prevent access from outside the backyard.
2) Swimming lessons as soon as weather permits
3) For the direct access from the house, I installed a Watch Dog Latch (www.watchdoglatch.com) on our backporch door. I installed it about 54" inches up, so in order to open the door...you have to reach through and push out the latch. When entering back in the house from the backyard, you just have to pull out the latch and open the door. I have ordered an auto-door closer to help aid in the safety. So it's impossible for our kids to open the door into the backyard without an adult's help. It has already worked several times as I'll be in the backyard surveying the day's work, and my 3 year old sees me from the living room and comes to open the door...only for it to catch about 1" and so therefore she yells through the crack "Daaaaadeeeee!"
 
Not really applicable at this point for you but we went with an integrated autocover. For our pool (18x38) and options they ran $10-$15K though. We also have it completely fenced in and separate from the house area.
 
Swimming lessons that also teach them how to survive if they fall in fully clothed. My kids were taught how to survive at a young age if they fell into the pool by a local swim club before we had our pool. Their final test was to get thrown into a pool with shoes, jeans and a shirt on and be able to swim to the side and get out.
 
Flippy said:
Swimming lessons that also teach them how to survive if they fall in fully clothed. My kids were taught how to survive at a young age if they fell into the pool by a local swim club before we had our pool. Their final test was to get thrown into a pool with shoes, jeans and a shirt on and be able to swim to the side and get out.
Click to expand...

Yes....swimming lessons.....of course! The kids have been to swimming lessons just after their 2nd birthdays and again after they turned 3. I should have mentioned this in our first post. Even though they should be able to find their way out if they were to unexpectedly go for a splash, I am not counting on this last line of defense as an active countermeasure. However, it has been part of our grand plans.
 

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JayBauman said:
Right now, we're in the middle of our pool build. You can follow all the fun and excitement here. At our last house, it was easy to put in a pool in the back yard and put up a wrought iron fence to completely isolate the pool...the only entry was through a gate that could be locked. This allowed us to worry a bit less about my toddlers finding their way into the water.

Due to the configuration of our current yard, there isn't a practical way to do this again. My twins are 4, so I still need to make sure they do not find their way to the water without our knowledge. However, they kids are getting older so I really only need a "temporary" solution for the next few years. Construction has begun, so I have a large dangerous hole in the back yard and our perimeter fence is missing a few sections for the next month or so.

My wife and I have thought about this quite a bit, and here is what we have implemented:
  1. Installed the door alarms, as required per code. My city requires this, but they "trust" that we actually do the installation. I have signed the papers saying I have done this, but we actually have installed the alarms. And let me tell you....they work! I'm glad we don't have any next door neighbors yet, because they would get annoyed every time we forget to hit the alarm bypass button when we open the door.
  2. I have changed the deadbolt locks on both exterior doors with direct access to the pool (rear door, garage service door) to require a key for both inside and outside. We then have a key mounted at a height of 6 feet near each door, so you have to intentionally pull down the key and unlock the deadbolt. My kids will be competent swimmers long before they are clever enough to figure out how to avoid this deterrent.
  3. Per code requirements, I have added auto-closure feature to outside gate and raised the handle to meet minimum height requirements. If the kids get out the front door, it won't be easy for them to enter the back yard through the gate.

This exhausts my imagination on how to minimize the danger associated with our small children and the pool. Each countermeasure has an automatic redundancy, so I feel somewhat better. The only other things I could think of would be to install a safety net or pool safety fence around the water. For various reasons, neither option is practical for our situation.

What have you guys done? Is there something else we should be considering? Anyone inspired by our recent safety actions? Please let me know.

Thanks,
Jayson
Click to expand...

Jayson,
Here in Florida we have two options per code. Alarms on doors or baby safety fence.
I've provided the baby fence picture. This is ideal for young ones as I have a 2 and 4 year old. It's removable. I added a manga lock gate for easier access. There are plenty of dealers that offer these. You should pay around $10-12 per linear ft installed. Hope that helps.

 
- - - Updated - - -

JayBauman said:
Yes....swimming lessons.....of course! The kids have been to swimming lessons just after their 2nd birthdays and again after they turned 3. I should have mentioned this in our first post. Even though they should be able to find their way out if they were to unexpectedly go for a splash, I am not counting on this last line of defense as an active countermeasure. However, it has been part of our grand plans.
Click to expand...

You are way ahead of lot of folks. I see too many times people who do not get their kids swimming lessons. Less than a 1/2 mile away from me a young girl died on her 3rd birthday because she did not know how to swim. I see too many people worry about fences and stuff but never talk about swim lessons as the #1 thing they should do IMHO.
 
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