Pond & young children.
 

I want to create a wildlife pond like in the link below
http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/2000_1...tcm3-23191.jpg

I am put off because i have a 5 & 3 year old.They would also love a shallow
wildlife pond,i dont think a shallow pond with long pebbled beaches would
trouble them.I know kids can drown in inches of water. i know you also need
a deeper centre ,i was going to go 18 inch deepest.Should i wait till they
are older , i could erect a cheap fence around the pond.My daughters school
has done this,but they have more space.I am trying to talk myself into doing
the pond ,but dont want to be constantly worried for them everytime they pop
into the garden.Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a safe age
?
Thanks Keith

Pond & young children.
 

kenty;) wrote:
I want to create a wildlife pond like in the link below
http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/2000_1...tcm3-23191.jpg

I am put off because i have a 5 & 3 year old.They would also love a
shallow wildlife pond,i dont think a shallow pond with long pebbled
beaches would trouble them.I know kids can drown in inches of water.
i know you also need a deeper centre ,i was going to go 18 inch
deepest.Should i wait till they are older , i could erect a cheap
fence around the pond.My daughters school has done this,but they have
more space.I am trying to talk myself into doing the pond ,but dont
want to be constantly worried for them everytime they pop into the
garden.Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a
safe age ? Thanks Keith

Personally, I wouldn't consider a pond until children are much older. :(
--
ßôyþëtë

Pond & young children.
 

I want to create a wildlife pond like in the link below
http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/2000_1...tcm3-23191.jpg

I am put off because i have a 5 & 3 year old.They would also love a
shallow wildlife pond,i dont think a shallow pond with long pebbled
beaches would trouble them.I know kids can drown in inches of water.
i know you also need a deeper centre ,i was going to go 18 inch
deepest.Should i wait till they are older , i could erect a cheap
fence around the pond.My daughters school has done this,but they have
more space.I am trying to talk myself into doing the pond ,but dont
want to be constantly worried for them everytime they pop into the
garden.Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a
safe age ? Thanks Keith

You could cover the pond with a very substantial netting, preferably made of
steel.

Alan

Pond & young children.
 

"kenty;)" writes
I want to create a wildlife pond like in the link below
http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/2000_1...tcm3-23191.jpg

I am put off because i have a 5 & 3 year old.They would also love a shallow
wildlife pond,i dont think a shallow pond with long pebbled beaches would
trouble them.I know kids can drown in inches of water. i know you also need
a deeper centre ,i was going to go 18 inch deepest.Should i wait till they
are older , i could erect a cheap fence around the pond.My daughters school
has done this,but they have more space.I am trying to talk myself into doing
the pond ,but dont want to be constantly worried for them everytime they pop
into the garden.Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a safe age
?
There's a reflex action to shut your mouth and not breathe when you find
yourself under water - i understand that very young children don't do
this, and open mouth and inhale ready to scream - hence drowning in a
puddle.

To stop you worrying, there's two ways 1) a fence 2) probably more
secure - a weight-supporting grid over the whole pond

The safe age is probably one you'll be best to assess yourself with
knowledge of your kids. If you would feel safe with them playing in a
fairly deep paddling pool without supervision, you are probably getting
to the age where they'd be OK with a pond - this is probably a fair bit
older than 3. You also have to think about other kids who will come to
play in your garden, and to what extent you want to supervise them.
--
Kay

Pond & young children.
 

In article ,
K writes:
|
| To stop you worrying, there's two ways 1) a fence 2) probably more
| secure - a weight-supporting grid over the whole pond

There is a third way: be a little more rational, and resist the pressure
to join in the mass hysteria.

For heaven's sake, a child of 3 can just walk out of a shallow pond 18"
deep! The risk is MUCH lower than not LOCKING up all of the household
chemicals and many cooking supplies and carrying the key on your person.
Children of 3 are quite intelligent enough to drag chairs to climb up
on the chair backs to reach top shelves.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Pond & young children.
 

..Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a safe
age
?
Thanks Keith



Having rescued an unconcious three year old from a neighbour's pond and
brought it back to life thanks to Royal Life Saving Society instructions
received a few years earlier, I say DON'T.

Mike

Pond & young children.
 

Nick Maclaren wrote:
There is a third way: be a little more rational, and resist the pressure
to join in the mass hysteria.
For heaven's sake, a child of 3 can just walk out of a shallow pond 18"
deep! The risk is MUCH lower than not LOCKING up all of the household
chemicals and many cooking supplies and carrying the key on your person.
Children of 3 are quite intelligent enough to drag chairs to climb up
on the chair backs to reach top shelves.

My childminder who looked after both my boys when little had a pond.
She had a steel grid over it, sides tucked into the banks and it was so
solid I could stand on it!

I understand your frustrations over 'kids safety' but these days, I'm
sorry to say that children are kept inside too much and they don't
'roam' like we used to in total freedom through fields, farms and near
ponds and rivers. It very much depends on how you bring your kids up. I
have had my boys up trees by the time they could climb a chair, swim in
anything that has water in it and we put the tent up in gales, snow but
sunshine too. In fact, they perhaps ate more up in their tree house
than around the table :o)

It's good for kids to have nature so close - I'll say the OP should go
for a pond and make it totally safe for his own sanity!!

Check this link OP!!!

http://www.pondsafety.com/

Pond & young children.
 

The message
from "kenty;\)" contains these words:

Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a safe age

Someone I know has a little girl permanently, severely physically and
mentally disabled after she got her face into in a garden pond as a
toddler. She was only out of adult view for minutes but her brain had
been deprived of oxygen.

There are lots of things which the children will enjoy far more when
they are older and a pond is one.. Don't try to anticipate their growing
up because this lovely pre-school stage passes all too fast. Enjoy them
as "littles" for as long as you possibly can.

Right now, a 3 year old will be blissfully happy with a washing up
bowl of water and some plastic cups to throw it around with :-)

Janet.

Pond & young children.
 

"kenty;)" wrote in message
...
I want to create a wildlife pond like in the link below
http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/2000_1...tcm3-23191.jpg

I am put off because i have a 5 & 3 year old.They would also love a
shallow wildlife pond,i dont think a shallow pond with long pebbled
beaches would trouble them.I know kids can drown in inches of water. i
know you also need a deeper centre ,i was going to go 18 inch
deepest.Should i wait till they are older , i could erect a cheap fence
around the pond.My daughters school has done this,but they have more
space.I am trying to talk myself into doing the pond ,but dont want to be
constantly worried for them everytime they pop into the garden.Have any of
you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal combination best left alone
until the kids have grown up.What is a safe age ?
Thanks Keith


My suggestion is to build the pond you want in terms of shape, depth etc and
fill it with cobbles and rocks amongst which you can have the odd water
feature. At a future date you can start to remove the odd cobbles etc etc.

Pond & young children.
 

Rupert (W.Yorkshire) wrote:
[...]

My suggestion is to build the pond you want in terms of shape, depth etc and
fill it with cobbles and rocks amongst which you can have the odd water
feature. At a future date you can start to remove the odd cobbles etc etc.

That's the most elegant solution: in some situations it could even look
better than a pond, but I bet the stones would go green. I've had
experience building and maintaining a pond in a school: we used the
steel grid suggested by others. 6" weldmesh is strong, and you may be
able to scrounge a piece from a friendly building site. It goes rusty,
though.

--
Mike.

Pond & young children.
 

I work as an EMT, and unfortunately, worrying about kids and water
isn't hysteria, it's wisdom learned the hardest way.

A water feature that's screened or is a little brook over rocks would
be beautiful and safe. There's no reason you can't have kids and ponds,
as long as safety is your first concern. It sounds like that's the
case, so good for you, Mom!

Pond & young children.
 

Nick, I wish children were all that rational. I work in an ER, and I
have seen the sad proof that sometimes, children don't get out of
situations that perhaps they could, for one reason or another. I've
seen poisonings, drownings, crushes, falls, etc. Children can be hurt
very badly by some very simple circumstances. They just don't think,
and they don't have the physical resources of adults, so when they get
into trouble, things go south surprisingly fast, especially around
water. An amount of water that we could just cough up can drown a baby
very quickly. Think about how small a child's lungs are - they're tiny!
Even a five or six year old has a very low capacity for processing
water in their lungs. So it's not about whether or not they could climb
out, it's about whether they accidentally drew in a big breath if they
were to tip over or fall into a body of water.

Water has the dubious honor of being one of the easiest ways for a
child to die, and the easiest mistake to make. Luckily, it's also an
easy mistake to prevent.

Your suggestions of a fence or a grid are steps in the right direction.
The author's concern is not hysteria, however, it's just caution.

Pond & young children.
 

Have any of you combined pond & kids or is this a leathal
combination best left alone until the kids have grown up.What is a safe
age
?
Thanks Keith



Having read the replies I feel sure that you realise the answer is 'when
they have left home'

On your own concious be it to install a pond whilst they are less than 7 / 8
year olds ish.

Mike


--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
International Festival of the Sea 28th June - 1st July 2007

Pond & young children.
 

In article .com,
"tenacity" writes:
|
| I work as an EMT, and unfortunately, worrying about kids and water
| isn't hysteria, it's wisdom learned the hardest way.

It is hysterical to make a huge fuss over an unlikely cause of death
while neglecting much more serious ones.

It is hysterical to prevent small children being exposed to limited
dangers, so that they are more endangered overall by being unprepared
for more serious dangers of the same type.

This over-reaction about the danger from shallow ponds is hysterical.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Pond & young children.
 

This over-reaction about the danger from shallow ponds is hysterical.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

There speaks a man who has not fetched a limp three your old out of a pond
and brought her round.

Someone's daughter, the same age as my own daughter at the time.

Even the date sticks in my mind. Maundy Thursday afternoon 1963..

Water and young children are like water and electrics. They don't mix unless
with extreme care.

Mike


--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
International Festival of the Sea 28th June - 1st July 2007