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Good idea or not? I have heard some horror stories about infants/toddlers or even a neighbors kid wondering into the pool and drowning or near drowning.
I'm not talking about the $12.99 pool from toys 'rus, but more so either an inground pool, or above ground pool.
Does anyone know if the fun you get out of it is worth the extra required (installing new fences, pool upkeep, higher liability insurance, etc)?
We have one and LOVE IT!!! I actually LOCK my gates even when we did not have a pool. I don't want anyone being able to come back there nor do I want someone opening up my gate and letting my dogs out if they are in the backyard.
We moved into our house w/ a pool when the kids were 7 & 3. Our house has a security alarm and every single time a door or window opens the alarm chirps. You can hear it throughout the entire house so I'd know if my kids opened the backdoor. We also put one of those chains on the back door up high while the kids were little. But even before we lived in a house w/ the pool my kids were taught to NEVER go out into the backyard without our knowledge or us with them. My youngest is now 10 and she still asks if she can go out in the backyard to swing or ride her scooter (she isn't even going to swim). Same with the older one, she still asks or lets us know she is going outside to lounge by the pool. At night our alarm is set so that the backdoor has no delay on it at all. The minute it opens if the alarm is set it goes BLARING off. So I have not been worried about my kids being able to get back there w/o us knowing it. Same for anyone else be it neighbor kids or whoever as we have an 8' privacy fence w/ locked gates.
Maintenance isn't that bad at all. As long as you do your routine maintenance it really isn't that bad at all. It can be fun and a family activity really. We will be out cleaning the pool which is really easy while the kids are playing in the backyard. It doesn't take that long to sweep it down and put shock in it and check the chemical levels. Just stay up with it and you won't mind it at all. Oh, this is one case where spending a few extra dollars and getting qood quality equipment DOES make a difference.
Insurance wise we don't pay much more at all than neighbors that don't have a pool. It really isn't that much to insure.
Some cities require you have a privacy fence w/ locking gates so that toddlers can not get to it. They also require an alarm on the door going out to the pool. If you don't have a security alarm you can buy one of these door alarms at a pool supply store for around $100 and put it on yourself.
We had an in ground pool when I was growing up and I loved it. We had it fenced in and plus all us kids knew how to swim at an early age.
We now have an in-ground pool and I'm looking forward to my kids having the same fun we did growing up, having pool parties, etc...You just have to be wise about it, teach pool safety, fence it in with a lock. Go for it!
My parents had an above ground pool. I became 'pool girl' once I was old enough to handle testing, chemicals, filter maintenance (old DE filter) vac, skimming.... Needless to say the last thing I want in this lifetime is another pool. Honestly, I can't see spending good money on something that will only get a few months use -- but to each his own, right?
Fences, pool alarms, house locks, etc. vary between municipalities. Where I am located, you have to have a self closing gate, fence has to be over a certain height, there are back door lock restrictions and legislators have been considering pool alarms. Not to mention what they do for our taxes here $$$.
You might want to consider a pool heater, depending upon the climate you live in. On LI, NY, we only have several good pool months. Many people open their pools and put their boats in the water in May. Without a heater, pools aren't warm until July, and even that is questionable.
My friends and family who have pools enjoy them, I just never saw the appeal. It's great to get an invite to their homes a couple of times during the summer. I would much rather bake a cake, bring snacks and drinks and have a nice visit. I am a good guest, but would make a lousy pool owner!
We moved into a house last summer that has an inground pool with fence. We LOVE it!!! It is easy maintenance and so much fun. We have 5 and 7 year old sons and they are good swimmers. Of course there is a fence around it, and we have an alarm system from inside the house that sounds off if any of the doors to the house are opened. We like this feature.
But as a previous poster said, we've trained our kids to not go in the backyard unless they let us know. And NEVER are they allowed near the pool without an adult in the backyard.
We love having a pool. Absolutely!!!
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