Pond Safety

[nbarker]

We have four ponds on our new property. 1 is a wildlife pond on the other side of a creek, so it won't be too easily accessable. The other 3 are about 100-200 feet from the homesite. I have already found some information on making a rescue post ( Pond Safety l), but I'm interested in any other practical advice on keeping these ponds safe. My daughter is only 4 months old, but I'm thinking ahead to when she is able to move around. I'm going to start her in swimming lessons at 6 months (mother & baby class). I hope by the time she is allowed to play outside alone that she will be able to swim (maybe by 5 or so).
Thanks in advance,
Nicole

[Pat]

All the safety equipment in the world is of no use in protecting small children except one, a fence that is high enough to be child proof.

Ponds are a very attractive nuisance that will pull at a child like a magnet. It seems that the more you say stay away the more attractive you make it seem.

Posts of any color, arrayed with ropes, buoys, and on and on are not much help for a small child. The only sure bet is a child proof fence. Sorry if that is not aesthetically acceptable or part of your landscaping master plan but reality is often not exactly what you want to hear.

Drown proofing is a terrific skill to be taught but not sure how well it will work below age 9-10

There are "safety belts" used in boating operations. They are auto inflating flotation devices that inflate on contact with the water. There are versions that are passive and require no user interaction.

You could use IR motion detectors or series of LASER beams surrounding the "no-go" area to set off a alarm if the perimeter is traversed. A less sensitive kind of guy would suggest an invisible dog fence and a collar for the kid.

Our newest pond is just starting to fill with recent rains. It is number 12 on this property (160 acres) and many of the ponds have been fished my oodles of folks over the years. I am glad that our state law protects us from liability from anyone being injured, even if they are on the property with our permission so long as it is recreational and not commercial. We have had folks climb the fences to trespass, fish, and picnic with their small children and I am always worried a kid will get hurt.

I do wish you good luck as you will need it. Kids are hard to keep away from water. You can't keep an eye on them 24-7 once they are walking good. Just a moments distraction and...

Pat

[nbarker]

Thanks for your honest advice....
I know that this does pose some danger, however, I think my husband and I are the extra cautious type and we'll do all that we can to keep our daughter safe. I guess the way we look at it is that there are potential dangers everywhere. You can't keep your kids in a bubble their whole life. Honestly, from a safety perspective, she is much safer living out in the country than she is in the suburbs or the city.
I found an infant (15-30lb) life jacket that I will keep her in while playing outside this summer/next summer. I feel that the sooner she knows how to swim the better. I taught swimming lessons for years and I had kids in my intermediate classes that were 6 or 7 and were able to swim several lengths of the pool.
We know someone who owns a fencing company and I will talk to him about what kind of fence options we have. What I may do is make a fenced in "play area" (sand box, swing set, etc). With the number of ponds and their size, I don't think fencing them in is really an option. This would have to be one mamoth fence to do that.
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Thanks again,
Nicole

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] It can be done, Nicole, and here is one way to do it. When our kids were tiny and we went to dangerous places like the beach or the mountains with dangerous cliffs, my wife and I made it a practice to formally "transfer" the kid or kids from one of us to the other. That way there was never the thing where: "I thought YOU had her?" when the kid goes missing. So we would literally say: "I'm transferring Michelle to you." when we traded responsibility for our daughter and later our two boys, so that there was never any mistake about who was watching who, and during the "off time" the non-responsible parent could enjoy the view or whatever we were doing. We did that for years and years. It must have worked because Michelle is now a Harvard Professor.

[egon]

Maybe explain to the kids whats involved with pond's and even let them get wet so they know whats there. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Then they don't gotta investigate when no ones looking. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
A less sensitive kind of guy would suggest an invisible dog fence and a collar for the kid.

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I've known a few kids for whom I think that would be most appropriate. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Bird, It would work fine but in this age of political correctness would not appeal to anyone very much influenced by the opinion of others.

On a similar note... I let 5 new moms out of the maternity ward yesterday but could not drive their calves through the 12 ft open wire gate (made as part of the twin hot wire electric fence.) On their own they would walk up to where the gate had been and bawl but not cross "THE LINE" no matter what. Eventually, quite a while later after some of the moms wandered in and out through the opening the calves went out too.

It was apparent that at some time in the week or two they had been in there they had touched the fence.

Pat

[jml755]

Nicole,
I think your fenced-in-play-area idea along with swimming lessons is a very prudent approach. As you say, you can't put your kids in a bubble. Also, they make floating alarms for swimming pools. Neighbor had one and it seemed to work. Don't know if they would work on a pond of any size, however. In any case, there's no substitute for a watchful eye. Don't get lulled into a false sense of security by completely trusting a gate, alarm, fence, whatever. I like the "formal handoff" idea. I'm going to try that tonite with my wife on our 18 yr old daughter! [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Seriously though, It puts responsibility squarely on someones shoulders.