Neighborhood kids & a back yard pool

Our yard was always "kid central" for the neighborhood.  We had the big swing set and the pool.....so very similar to your situation.  The only rule we had was NOBODY swims if there is not an adult at home.  We never had an issue.  If we weren't home they knew there was no swimming.  The kids got it and never abused it. 

We do keep a $1,000,000 umbrella insurance policy.  It cost $30.00 per month.  Accidents happen.

Kapow!  Nailed it.   I believe there are also "Alarms" you can get that will go off if anyone is in the pool.     And Im sure tuwood could hook you up with a pool cam. 

I would prepare a "first time to the pool" lecture for every kid in the neighborhood.   "This is our pool, we're happy you're here.  If I ever find out you were in the pool when I'm not here... you will never swim in the pool again. "  Then sacrifice a chicken or something for more dramatic effect. 

You should have a discussion with the kids and the kids parents. I'd also look into what you are legally liable for, if a kid were to get into the pool and drown. I know that's horrible and morbid, and I don't know all the laws for each state, but I think is some states, even if you have a fence up, if a kid drowns in your pool you are liable. Thus, the insurance policy he mentioned above. ? 

Obviously the fence is there to prevent that, but I would think it is something you probably want to get a clear understanding of. 

I never felt the need to discuss anything with all of the parents of every kid who has been in our pool  I don't even know some of the kids, much less their parents.   What do I have to do next.....ask each kid if their parent knows where they are?  Not my job.  I had/have a very simple conversation with any kid I see in our pool that I don't know. (yes, one of my kids is with them unless it's a neighborhood kid I know well....they can swim if we are home regardless of our kids being there because they already know not to act like an idiot at my house).  It goes like this, "Hi XXXX, good to meet you. Have fun in the pool. Here's the deal.....don't even think about getting in this pool without XXX(one of my kids)....do you understand me?"  Never had a single problem....I trust my kids to explain any other needed rules.

If a parent of one of my kid's friends called to give me a clear understanding of the rules at their pool, and what liability each of us would assume, my kids would not be swimming there. 

Parenting is not complicated.....I have no desire to make it that way.

I don't have a pool, but I second this policy as well as checking with your insurance provider to make sure you've got all your potential behinds covered.  

We looked at getting a pool last summer as well.  Couple of things our Home Owner's Insurance Company (Met Life, and I live in Iowa) suggested:

Make sure you have a fence around the pool that allows for access only from the house and not from the yard.  Possibly have a second, outer fence keeping people out of the yard in general but that was not required. Keep the umbrella policy in force and make sure the HOI company knows about the pool.  By the way, your HOI will probably increase as well.

The challenging part of of this is that even though kids are told not to swim when there are no adults around, some will still do it.  Probably not the 6-10 year olds, but I woudl think the 13-16 year olds would probably blow off that rule.

Good luck

Also in Iowa, and was told anyone can get into our pool and drown no matter what the fence is like. But, it is still our fault even though we have locked gates and fences.  Our rules are as simple as stated above.  Nobody is in the pool without a parent at a minimum on the property.  Now that our kids are now out of school, they have their friends over, but if a small child is involved that parent is the one taking care of the child in the pool.  I have been a lifeguard and do understand how quickly a slip becomes a drowning.

This is our standing rule for any backyard gathering where there are parents with young kids - if your kid is swimming then you are in the pool area watching them.

We have young kids (4 and 6) and one of the best parenting advice I was given is that accidents are more likely to happen in a large group/party where both parents think the other or some other parent is watching out of their kids. 

Last summer I was at a pool party in which there were several kids and parents.  We were all watching our kids fairly closely and the kids were more or less not screwing around too much.  Howecer, one little guy, maybe 3 years old, snuck away and fell in the deep end.  The mom saw it right away and several of us dads jumped in causing a huge amount of waves.  Needless to say, I think the parents were more scared than the child and our reaction was swift, efficient, and truthfully overdone. 

It just goes to show that kids on a mission will accomplish that mission, come hell or high water.  Always watch those little buggers!

Amen!

I also think as parents one thing that should be very high on the priority list is to make sure that our kids know how to swim as soon as possible and also take them swimming as often as possible so they are comfortable around water.

I add the second part because I took swimming lessons for a few years as a little kid (5-6 years old) and could swim just fine going off the diving board and everything.  I hadn't seen a pool for a good year or two and went to a pool with some friends and jumped in where I thought the water wasn't very deep, but it was 6' deep.  I panicked and started to drown.  I was done and remember sucking water in at the bottom of the pool when the lifeguard jumped in and pulled me out.  I didn't lose consciousness, but it was really close.  I "knew" how to swim, but had the old 8 year old "swim panic" that could have easily ended me.  :-/

flip turns?

Nice thread hijack

LOL

The little 3 year old down the street is my biggest concern. He wanders over to our house while his big brother & sister are out riding bikes or something with my kids. I will go to the garage and there he is - I don't even know he is around. Or he is out on the play set - no other kids in the yard but him. My dog barks at strangers but is very protective of this little boy and does not make a sound when he comes over. Just follows him all over the yard. Probably because the little guy drops snacks all over the place ha ha.  I have always left it up to Mom or Dad to come after him because we really don't mind him coming over but I think I may have to change my ways. Along with the fence we are getting a pool cover so I think we will just have to keep it covered at all times when not in use.

Geez Tony that is scary!

I know it is a little bit different than a homeowners pool...

Our neighborhood has a "community"pool and we had to look at our liability as well. We were looking at fencing and putting on a locking gate. We were told that as long as we were doing everything reasonable to keep people out that were not suppose to be in, then we were good. We added a taller fence than normal which made it tough to climb, placed locks which can only be opened by keys given out by the HOA and posted signs all over the fences with the rules, restrictions and notice of no lifeguard on duty. We also added an emergency phone which only calls 911.

This is not to say that people still do not gain entry to the pool through other measures, but we have done everything possible to ensure that only authorized people can be in there.

As an ex-aquatics director, I can tell you that I had many parents made at me, but I made them be in the pool at the YMCA with their child if they were too small and they had to be in arms reach.  It is amazing, how quickly things turn bad.  I am serious that if we have people over, there is a parent in the water with their child, unless I am in the pool and I said I will take care of it or another parent is in the water that will watch everyone.  And our pool is just a small pool that we basically float in and cool down in.  Just the standard red neck above ground pool.

Our pool was always the most popular place in the neighborhood when the kids were young.  We really didn't mind, because at least we knew where they were.

We also enforced the "no adult/no swimming" rule and the kids were always pretty good about that.  Occasionally we'd have to issue a "timeout" to kids for rough housing, fighting, or doing stupid/dangerous stuff.

The biggest problem we had was with the parents of some of the neighborhood kids who would just send their kids over to our place unannounced to swim while they went grocery shopping, to the mall, etc., expecting us to provide free babysitting, lifeguarding, bathroom privileges, drinks & snacks, etc.  The biggest offenders were a family with four kids, including one still in diapers.  They eventually got put on the "uninvited" list.

Mark

Excellent!