Paul Kelly wrote:

"Trevor Barton" wrote in message
...
David wrote:
More children drown in the bath than in garden ponds and most children
who drown in ponds are between 1 and 2 yrs old who shouldn't be out
unsupervised anyway, supervise then educate, don't childproof the world

Quite. Exposure to some degree of danger is part of the way all children
learn about the world and its hazards. Education, no matter how young
the child, is a more responsible attitude to take than removing dangers.
You aren't going to be able to remove the dangers for ever, start, now, to
realise that, and you'll all be better off as the child grows up.

Trev

So, you have a hot iron and need to leave the room to get something, so you
say to your 2 year old "Don't touch" ?

No, that would be stupid. It's very easy to pull an iron down on your head
(if you're two).

In the garden, you have a bonfire. You go away and leave it while your 2
year old plays in the garden?

No, that would be stupid, it's very easy to walk or run into a bonfire (if
you're two).

You have a garden pond and take no physical precautions to keep your 2 year
old out of the pond?

If you read my other post in this thread you'd have seen that I suggested
putting some sort of barrier up in conjunction with education. The barrier
does not have to be substantial, but to serve as a reminder to the child
that it's something not to cross.

Try a google search for "drowning in garden ponds"



From http://www.dti.gov.uk/homesafetynetwork/dw_stats.htm

Overall Summary of the garden drownings figures for data period 1992 – 1999

Only 24% of the UK fatal drowning incidents in domestic gardens, 1992 to
1999, involving children of 5 or under occurred at the child's home.
Children are most at risk from drowning in the gardens of neighbours,
relatives or friends. 69% of the incidents involved garden ponds.

So all that says is that 76% or fatal child drownings in gardens don't
happen in your garden. You'd be better off filling in your neighbour's
pond, then, wouldn't you?

Summary – Garden Ponds
Over the last eight years 62 children, aged 5 and under, have drowned in
garden ponds. This is an average of eight a year. This is relatively
constant.

And almost vanishingly small compared with other causes of infant mortality.
Compare it with the more than 8 people, many of them children, who die every
*day* on the roads. Do you not take your child on the road? If not, why not?

Over 85% involved one or two year old children.

Many many more than 8 under two year olds die every year from SIDS (cot
death). Compared with that one, which you can do nothing about, drowning
in a pond is such a small risk as to not be significant.

In any means, of all the multitude of things that's likely to kill your
children before they reach adulthood, pond drowning in your own pond
is such a tiny thing it's really not something you ought to be overly
concerned about. Become an advanced driver (through the IAM training).
You're much more likely not to kill your children than you would be if
you fill in your pond.

Trev