[baby*girl]

I am actually after peoples preferences of having a pool on their property and pros and cons.

We are actually half way through the process of getting one in. It should be completed next Friday. But honestly I am wondering if I have done the right thing.

Ours is only 95 cm deep and we have 8, 10 and 13 so they can all touch and all very capable. We have waited until they were all old enough.

What are the real pains and what are the great benefits. We are in Qld, so pretty hot location, I am expecting we can use it most of the year as it has heating.

This post has been edited by baby*girl: 18/01/2013, 02:59 PM

[sandgropergirl]

We just had ours put in and no regrets. It's small and just near where we can watch them.

[howdo]

I'm hanging out for a pool. I want the convenience of being able to go outside the hottest parts of the day, not having to drag everything down to the pool and back again blah blah blah ...

I think the biggest downfall is they cost a bit to run. I loved when we had a pool ... *sigh* Best 4 months ever ...

[Katie_bella]

I love pools, but after assisting a neighbour to (unsuccessfully)resusitate their 18 month old son after he drowned in their pool, i would never, never have one. Nothing will ever bring their son back, or lessen the guilt they have.

[casime]

I got rid of mine (above ground) when DS was born. It wasn't so much about the safety (although I couldn't justify the several thousand it would cost to bring the fencing and surrounds up to my preferred standards) but that it was a pain in the neck to try and keep clean, and I used it probably twice in a two year period. But it was annoyingly above ground, which made cleaning it and getting in and out difficult.

I'm about to build a house, and will be getting one in the future when DS is safer to be around it. But I want in ground, with all the bells and whistles to keep it clean, and I'll pay someone to come in regularly to keep it in tip top shape. I also plan on having it heated, so to get more use out of it. I love pools, but they are a huge amount of work.

[soontobegran]

I was hesitant but my DH insisted as he grew up with one in their backyard but have not regretted the decision a couple of decades later. Ours was put in 6 months before our first baby so they have grown up with it but I can honestly say that not one of the 5 of them were ever in the pool area unsupervised until they were older teens. We have 8' fences all around.

There needs to be extreme vigilance and I would not contemplate one that was not fully fenced and gated with self closing gates that were kept in good working order.

Yours is very shallow OP but this does not make it safer. As long as you have made all the safety precautions then you should enjoy it very much.

[belnryan]

When buying our current house we had chosen two, one with a pool and one without. We ended up choosing without as our boys were only 2 and 4 at the time and i didn't want my mum (who looks after them at my house) being responsible for children and a pool.

We are now though looking at getting a pool in the next 2 years when the boys are 6 and 8.

This post has been edited by belnryan: 12/01/2013, 01:25 PM

[SplashingRainbow...]

Our parents got a pool when we were around your kids ages and it was fantastic. We were good kids and don't do anything stupid but it was great to have friends around and hang out in the pool.

[soontobegran]

I'm about to build a house, and will be getting one in the future when DS is safer to be around it. But I want in ground, with all the bells and whistles to keep it clean, and I'll pay someone to come in regularly to keep it in tip top shape. I also plan on having it heated, so to get more use out of it. I love pools, but they are a huge amount of work.

Kreepy Crawly is our friend casime. It was expensive to get the water right to start off with and now at the beginning of the swimming season it takes a few hundred to get the water right again but Kreepy keeps it ever so clean and having the pump on a timer to go off three times a day when swimming and once a day in winter seems to be enough.
A good salt chlorinator and big pump is a must.
Have to say that the family of ducks with their 10 ducklings who set up house in the plants beside the pool did test the water quality somewhat...duck poop stains.

[baby*girl]

I think the safety aspect is in the back of my mind, as I was always against having one, full stop.

However, my oldest DD who has autism and Intellectual impairment has been using a kiddie pool up to 6 times a day and her behavior and frustration has reduced so much with it that now she is 13 I feel quite comfortable with it.

The cost of running it, the fact that it is a permanent item and the fact that I am in the mids of a half wrecked back yard is making me doubt my decision.

Fingers crossed next week I will be feeling much happier about it all.