Do you have a pool/pond?

jacobsmama wrote: Just wondering...In the next 2 years we are going to be digging a pond yeah but I really want a pool...Like above ground. Last year I took Jacob to the community pool a few time with my sister and he loved it but this year he will really love it since he is older and basically swims in the bathtub He is use to being around it because my dad has a pond and he knows not to be around it without an adult but I know it can be very dangerous. I just wonderied if you all have one pond or pool and if you think it is worth all the upkeep and watching kids around it?? Thanks.

Kaitlin'smom replied: We have an on gound pool, it comes down in the winter. its the kind you blow up the top ring and fill it with water. It HUGE, and I think 40 inches deep. We love it and so does Kait. yes that means she must have someone out back with her when its up, but I still enfoce that when its not so nothing new there. She was getting really good at swimming with her life vest on last year. My sister bought a home almost 2 years ago with an inground, he boys are older but now she has the baby so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

C&K*s Mommie replied: We do not have an pond/pool, other than the kiddie one. But as long as you have safety measures along with the keeping an eye on them, it would be a good idea.

Safety like- a pool sensor, or fence, or the toppers that cover the entire pool. Nothing can replace an adult watching children, and nothing can replace a child lost to a pool accident, but I would get something to keep Jacob and any other child from venturing at will into there.

jacobsmama replied: thanks that is what I was thinking too!

kit_kats_mom replied: in our area, most people have a pool and many homes are on retention ponds.

We dont have a pool since DH and I are basically lazy and don't want the extra work. Our neighborhood has one we can use when we want too. I also wouldn't want one. I've heard too many stories from local moms about toddlers falling into the pool (even with the pool guards) and that terrifies me. We have a few child drownings down here every year too. You just cant' watch them every second. KWIM?

We have a retention pond in our backyard and I won't let the girls outside without me...well, besides the drowning possibility, there are gators in there too.

MyLuvBugs replied: Ok. You're totally going to laugh at how HICK I am, but bare with me here.

When my parents built their home they dug a HUGE pond (like 40ft x30 ft) off to the side of the drive way, and filled it with water. It was great and I remember ducks and geese coming there in the fall and spring, and I got to practice swimming in it. Except the ducks and geese didn't know that my dad was a hunter. and one year a whole flock of canadian geese landed there. Dad called up his huntin' buddies in town and they all shot their limit (right in the town limits ). That following summer the pond dried up and has never held water since. Karma baby!! Total Karma!

So, instead my dad thought he'd be smart and got me a large round cattle tank/trough to be a swimming pool. It was about 2-3 ft deep and around 8 feet around, and worked great!! Easy to clean, just drained it out, power washed it with a hose, and then filled it back up with a little chlorine. I'm such a hick.

coasterqueen replied: We've always wanted one but due to safety probs AND at least where we are at you have to have a fence around your pool and an alarm system in order to keep your homeowners insurance PLUS your rates go up...we can't afford this.

ediep replied: we just got a pool put in last summer!! Its so fun and Jason loves it!

mckayleesmom replied: We have thought about trying to find a rental with a pool, but Im leaning more against it then for it.....Not until the kids are older anyway. My mil has a pool and her door locks at the top so the kids can't get out there, but it still scares the daylights out of me.

holley79 replied: We have spring fed ponds growing up. One my aunt cemented the bottom and charged people to swim in. The water was freezing but fun. We did fine with the pond. We knew the rules and followed them. DH and I are probably going to be getting a pool put in. We are saving up to do it. When we get it done, there is a new cover that you can put on it that a person up to 100 pounds can actually walk across it. It's like a huge trampoline. This is the only way I would have a pool. It scares me now that I have Annika. I do so many reports on drownings and that it just freaks me.

Momof3inMe replied: We have a small pond put its more for frogs and stuff like that I am going to put water lilly's in it this year. Em is really good around it. We show her where to stand to look at stuff in there. The pond is not near all the stuff they play with in the yard.

We live on a lake kinda......You have to cross a dirt road and go down a little path to get there. My boys know not to leave the yard without telling me. This will be out 3rd summer here and we have never had any problems with kids getting into water knock on wood!!!

Kaitlin'smom replied: oh ya we do have a fence, other wise we would not have it.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I don't want the upkeep of either a pond or pool, but I would love to move to a subdivision that had one! That way someone else is taking care of it! We did have a small pond in our old home, but it was before having kids. I was scared our dog would drown in it, so we took it out and I got PG with Wil after that. I just think they are very risky, unless you put a fence around it.

luvmykids replied:
My uncle and aunt do something like that, they live way out in the sticks and in case of fire a truck could never get there fast enough so they have a giant water tank in the ground. We used it to swim in but it's really for fire safety purposes.

We had a pool when I was in high school, it's a lot of work!! I would love to have one when the kids are older but right now I figure if I can't keep them out of my make up I probably can't keep them safe with a pool.

TANNER'S MOM replied: All of my kids have swam in a stock tank.. I have caught the kids in teh ones that are being drank out of ! It is nasty green water and not good!

We do have a couple of ponds here..and the kids have all been spanked for even looking at them. We told Tanner when he was small they had alligators crocs and snakes in them.. well it did have 1 of the 3! Our dog went to the pond and got snake bit and almost died.. now they know better...

One thing people don't realize about ponds.. especially cattle horse ponds..is the mud factor. Those cows step in there and do there business..and they keep the mud charned up.. so be very careful cause you sink up past your knees. I have done this before and the sinking could cause a child to be able to get out of the water..with shoes heavy with mud!

MyLuvBugs replied:
Water Moccasins was what my dad said would "eat me alive" if I went swimming in a couple ponds around where I grew up. lol (truth was that he just didn't like/trust the people that had the pond), but it's probably why I can't swim in lakes or ponds that aren't crystal clear now. Well, that and I had a leech on me from the creek once.

jcc64 replied: We have a pool, which I was dead set against- b/c I was certain it would be a complete nightmare to keep clean. My condition was that I never ever lift a finger to clean it, and 3 years later, I haven't. Dh is very diligent about it (surprisingly), and I am glad we got it after all. The boys are at the age where I'd rather everyone came here where I can keep an eye on them, rather than wondering what they're doing somewhere else. And Corey is learning to swim at a much younger age than the boys did. And finally, the boys now play hockey on top of it during the icy winter months. All in all, it's been a good thing.