[thespottedcat]

We are moving next month to Brisbane and our house has a swimming pool.

I'm after advice on how to set ground rules straight up on people visiting to use our pool and supervising their children.

I've heard of people having a 'pool supervision hat' or similar where the person wearing the hat is responsible for staying pool side and you can't leave the pool unless you pass the hat onto another supervising adult. I think people use this a bit when you have a few families over.

Or could just say, if one of your kids is in the pool, regardless of other adults being in there/supervising their kids, you must sit pool side and supervise too.

What do you do?

[NSG]

Friends of mine have a pool. The rule they have is if your children want to swim, you are responsible for them. It seems fair enough to me.

[katrina24]

Hi, we don't have a pool but a friend does. When she has people over and there is swimming they just set up everything within the pool area so that everyone naturally goes in. They also used the swimming hat when their children were younger.

[JustBeige]

We just have the "your kid your responsibility" rule.

We do make it easy to watch them though as we set everything up outside so we can easily see the pool.

[Kay1]

Or could just say, if one of your kids is in the pool, regardless of other adults being in there/supervising their kids, you must sit pool side and supervise too.

This is what we do. I am thinking of altering it to the above being the rule for kids under 7 and over 7 (as long as they are competent swimmers) there must be one adult in the pool (or sitting on the edge watching) at all times but doesn't have to be the kids' own parents.

The problem with the 'hat' system is that other people simply aren't as tuned into kids that aren't their own. Also people with older kids just forget the level of supervision required by smaller kids. I have seen our friend let my toddler into the pool area and then go back to chatting while his competently swimming kids swam around him and he just forget about my toddler who was walking around the edge of the pool well out of the friends reach. So we also ask at the beginning of the day that no one let any children apart from their own through the pool gate. We also say upfront that if any kids under the age of 9 are in the pool an adult must be in the pool area. Some people are happy to let their 7-8 year olds in there alone and watch from outside the fence but I am not happy with that. We also talk to the kids first and make sure they know that when we say its time to come out they come, or there'll be no more swimming. This is so that you are not stuck negotiating to get kids out of the pool so you can go with one to the toilet for example....

This post has been edited by Kay1: 17/01/2013, 07:25 AM

[EmandZac]

Inlaws have a pool .... our kids our responsibilty rules at their house. If I or my DH have to leave poolside we ensure we have informed someone be it Nanny or Poppy that they are in charge.

[qak]

Friends of mine have a pool. The rule they have is if your children want to swim, you are responsible for them. It seems fair enough to me.

I go with this -hard enough to watch my own two kids by myself.

[thespottedcat]

Some good points raised already and I think the more that people respond, the more I think that if your kids are in the pool, you have to sit pool-side too.

Our entertaining area is right beside the pool but not within the fenced area and I don't think I'm comfortable with this distance still being classified as 'supervision'.

Another good tip re not letting other children into pool area.

I don't won't to be a mood killer when people come over but I also can't imagine the distress at finding a child on the bottom of the pool and them potentially not surviving or resuscitated but suffering serious brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

[Kay1]

The problem with "your kids, your responsibility" approach is that everyone has different standards. So we have family members who think it fine to let a 7 yo and 4 yo who can't swim into the pool area and sit down at the table outside it to chat. Not ok with me as the adult who is doing the safe thing and the water with their kid then has two extra to watch. If there is no one else in the pool then its just not safe and not allowed at our house. Also it confuses the message that we drum into our kids that NOBODY under 9 goes in the pool area without an adult.

Having all the festivities going on in the pool area is dangerous imo. Too easy to be distracted.

[thespottedcat]

The problem with "your kids, your responsibility" approach is that everyone has different standards. So we have family members who think it fine to let a 7 yo and 4 yo who can't swim into the pool area and sit down at the table outside it to chat. Not ok with me ...

Yep, this is what I'm thinking too.

OK, resolved! Your kids coming over and want to get in my pool? one of you sit pool side too.

Who's up for a swim in a month?