Need some expertise when it comes to baby/child and pool ownership?

[JaySav]

The wife and I are expecting our first child in Oct and we just bought our first house which, if you haven't guessed yet, has a pool. We do not have a "pool fence", per TN law the pool has to have a fence around it (fence around yard) which we have with self closing/locking gates. With pools built after 2011 (ours is 2007) I think you are required to have a pool alarm which we are going to get anyways just as added safety.

Basically would like any advice as to how/when to teach a child how to swim. I've heard about the baby float classes also. Just looking for some advice from past experiences with this topic, obviously as others have probably experienced, it makes us nervous having a pool in the back yard. With us being first time parents, first time home owners and first time pool owners all help is appreciated.

 

[markayash]

After my wife heard about a 2 year old drowning she signed my son up who was also 2..Take him/her somewhere they are trained .
The one by our house on the last day they push them in the pool and make sure the kid can swim/float enough to wait for help, there are lifeguards in the water and around so no real risk but those youg kids will surprise you what they learn in a week ..
She said most drownings aren't kids thinking them can swim and can't. It is kids getting too close and falling and panicking.
Congrats by the way, enjoy your time they grow up fast..That 2 year old is now a senior in high school and that seemed like last month

 

[Newdude]

In my county in NY we are allowed to have the yard fenced instead of just around the pool. However, any door that has access to the pool area needs an alarm. They make little plastic buzzer things that attach to the doors. For the first year or so it won’t matter much cuz the baby won’t be escaping. Years 1 to 3 will be worse and you’ll need to be extra vigilant. Even a quick shower while the toddler watches TV could turn tragic. Start with water classes as soon as they are available. We made my kids do full swimming lessons for safety purposes, long after they ‘could swim’.

 

[Rq120]

We have a pool cage (in FL) and specifically a 4 ft mesh kid fence around the pool that attachs to the sides of the pool cage. I would highly recommend having the immediate area around the pool secured. I'm not sure how that works for your yard/situation.
Also, how fast you have them swimming depends on the time they are in the pool. My twins are 2.5 years and can swim 1/3 of the pool unassisted. They also have no issues jumping off the side and swimming to the stairs. We tried to attend group swimming lessons and the lessons for the twins at this age were all "baby and me" which was singing and floating with mom. We are past those lessons in skill level. So we will wait until next year for the official lessons starting at three years old. The only option for "life saving" lessons was private lessons. Our kids are in the pool everyday so we did our own lessons. Even though our kids do well in the pool, we still keep the pool very secure and still watch them like a hawk during swim time.

 

[Newdude]

One of the final tests at swim class was to jump in fully clothed and tread water for 5 minutes. They were very good respecting the inherent dangers of pools, but I still always worried that they could trip and fall in ours or at a friends house. Once they passed that test I my anxiety levels dropped considerably. It also made it fun on the deep water rides at the water park. The lifeguards would always ask if the kids could swim because they were small. ‘Yes. I have never seen you swim Mr lifeguard but they can swim better than you’.

 

[JaySav]

@markayash It's a little girl and thanks for the advice!!! We have a flip lock deal on the back door at the very top also which I know isn't full proof by any means but at least something. I will def do the classes and I've already told the wife when our daughter is a little older and friends come over to swim they will have to do a "swim test" and swim a lap down and back so I can be confident in their ability.

 

[JaySav]

We also have a safety cover so half of the year I will be able to relax a little...the other half high alert for sure.

 

[Chickinvic]

I personally would install a fence around the pool even though your bylaw doesn't require one. Aren't there also pool alarms (that will go off if something of significant size hits the pool)? Better safe than sorry. Of course you will be vigilant also, but some actual physical barrier doesn't hurt IMO.

 

[markayash]

Good idea, its interesting that some kids are scared of the water then some jump in and don't think twice

 

[Randrx2]

We started swim lessons for our son at about 18 months. Where we lived did not have a pool. Basic items were learned, but no real survival skills. We then moved and didn’t start again until about 3 years old. After 10 (15 min.) lessons he was swimming from middle of pool to wall under water. After 30 lessons, he now jumps in, swims under water, comes up for air, can swim length of pool, pull me along on my float chair, etc.

I do not think you can start them too early. This gets them used to the water.

Oh, and as an added bonus, there are no freak outs in the bath tub when pouring water over their head!

 

[Rq120]

@Randrx2 so true. I forgot about the water on head thing. Ours just always take a shower so I forgot that’s an issue with some.

I forgot to mention we moved into our house with a pool when the kids were 6months. They were in the pool immediately in floats. When they were about a year (whenever they could fit in them) we bought puddle jumpers. The kids learned how to maneuver around the pool with those on. A little after 2 years old is when we started swimming without the puddle jumpers. I just watched our 2.5 year old daughter jump in and swim to her dad. Then swim 2/3 of the pool length without a breath. Then swim back and lifted her head up for a breath. 2 weeks ago when our pool had just been replastered (the mesh fence was down) my son jumped in fully clothed and swam to the stairs on his own. My mother in law was screaming and I just laughed.

I think this proves 2 keys points.
1. Secure the immediate pool area. You want your kids to be able to play in the yard without worrying about the pool. Also, temptation is too great (as my son proved).
2. Work with your kids as much as you can, as early as you can.

 

[Casey]

Get her in water n used to it as soon as weather permits. It took me awhile but I just taught my granddaughter how to swim successfully without floaties. She just turned 6 in May. That doesn't mean she is allowed in the pool by herself. Install gates/fencing and never let her out of site when outside.

 

[mguzzy]

When we bought our first house it had a pool and we had two little ones.. a toddler and an infant. It wasn't too long before we had two more. We got all the kids in the water as soon as we could to teach them to respect the pool and familiarize them with it so they wouldn't panic from unknown. We put in a 5 ft mesh fence around the pool with a locking gate. Even when they were tall enough to open it the rule was no one in the gate unless there was an adult. Sometimes I would look out the kitchen window and they would be lined up waiting for us to come out.....
And the best thing.. we found some one that would give swim lessons to our kids in our own pool! No that wasn't the best thing.. the best thing was she also ended up as their kindergarten teacher... In fact she liked using our pool so much, with the salt water, she asked to if she could do lessons for a select other friends, and she gave us a cost break.

 

[cfherrman]

Remove ladder from the water, kids can climb up locking type of ladders

Get a puddle jumper

 

[SteakandDeadlifts]

There's a teaching method that focuses on survival first, even for babies. They work with them in individual pools to teach the kid to roll over on their back and lay still (ie, float, but while breathing air and not water.) That's step #1. I don't think fencing is any sort of a solution, especially when you might have a 15 year old baby sitter that may be forgetful when getting the pizza you had delivered, etc. We used Texas Swim Academy for the survival stuff, you can check out what their method is on their website Houston Infant Survival Swim Lessons, Katy, Houston . I'm sure there's something similar in your area. We stopped sending the kids there after they got the basics down, and switched to a more conventional swimming school afterwards. And, they're Aggies, so I wanted to stop paying them as soon as I was able