Selfsufficientish.com

I wouldn't have a pond, I'd be too worried about other children visiting my home and falling in.

when i was younger, my grandad took me down to see his cows in the feilds, and i was sitting on the side of the water trough, (think it was an old bath) when i accidentaly fell in

he left me there to struggle, watching me ovcrse but when i eventually got myself calmed down and out of the trough and i aked why he didnt save me, it was because i was stupid to sit there and he didnt rescue me to teach me a lesson

thinking about it now he did the right thing, im not scared of water now but it sure did teach me the dangers and also drilled it into my own kids .

im sure he would have saved me though if i couldnt rescue myself LOL

i would have been about 3, and can still remember it 22 years late so a good lesson learned

i thnk you have made the right choice to have it later,I know they have been in gardens since time began but folks had bigger families then,bigger extended families,grandparents living with them or next door,or aunts uncles next door etc,even neighbours were on far more familiar terms than many are with theirs now.The result was generaly there was always someone there,within eye &/or ear shot
Unless there was a similar *backup* I owuld be hesitant.My 2 astound me sometimes with things they *pull out of the bag* so to speak,M nonchalantly flips bolts & latches on thngs that to my knowledge she hasnt even been near
sharp little monkeys are kids

Theres a stream near us,I make a point of every day we go by it talking about it,we stand & look to se if there are tiddlers in it,we see a kingfisher sometmes I hope to make the girls aware its there & aware its to be treated with respect ie be careful!for a good few years yet

We also have a pond in our garden. "A" is now 4yrold. but she was 2 when we put it in. we have a thick wire mesh drilled and screwed in place. that can be unscrewed for maintenance. I made it strong enough to take my weight. (75kg) "A" loves the pond, it teaches them so much about wildlife and also the dangers of water.

Surely it's better for your children to discover the dangers of water in there own back garden, under your supervision. than down the local canal/river with their mates.

The Hopefuls wrote:when i was younger, my grandad took me down to see his cows in the feilds, and i was sitting on the side of the water trough, (think it was an old bath) when i accidentaly fell in

he left me there to struggle, watching me ovcrse but when i eventually got myself calmed down and out of the trough and i aked why he didnt save me, it was because i was stupid to sit there and he didnt rescue me to teach me a lesson

thinking about it now he did the right thing, im not scared of water now but it sure did teach me the dangers and also drilled it into my own kids .

im sure he would have saved me though if i couldnt rescue myself LOL

i would have been about 3, and can still remember it 22 years late so a good lesson learned

Sounds lovely and my first swimming lessons were a bit like that at school lol chuck em in and if they manage to surface and make it to the side then they can swim.
I've never been a great swimmer even with that fear factor taken in to account but I could probably save myself.
I wouldn't put a toddler or any child in that situation though and to apply adult thinking to a child is wrong.
Children just don't see the dangers and that's why we have to think for them and protect them.

What if the pool had been deeper and grandad hadn't been around

I've got a baby bath pond - it is literally a baby bath sdunk into the ground and surrounded by logs.

It attracts frogs and other wildlife, and is baby-safe.

Might be an idea before looking at getting a huge one.

the.fee.fairy wrote:I've got a baby bath pond - it is literally a baby bath sdunk into the ground and surrounded by logs.

It attracts frogs and other wildlife, and is baby-safe.

Might be an idea before looking at getting a huge one.

Sorry Fee but it doesn't sound really baby safe... well maybe 'baby' but not toddler safe. A toddler can drown in 2 cm of water (if they fall unconscious) a young toddler face first into a baby bath would probably not be able to save themselves.


I have just put in our pond today - I really should remember to take photos

I put many bricks, stone and rubble around the out side and two 'islands' in the middle... then I put the mesh stuff on top and put more piles of rubble and stones on top of it.

I can still get in to clean it (skim leaves off) It is a real mess, several piles of rubble and dirt... it looks very ugly (which was the plan) it is hidden so I am hoping that it will all overgrow and be covered in a few months - I put it where there are many nettles and thistles and I might put more around it too.

I may one day wish to make it more educational but for the moment it is just for the frogs to live in peace

What i meant by baby safe is that the logs around the outside are too big for a baby or toddler to climb on/over to get to the pond.

Sorry if it sounded wrong!!

the.fee.fairy wrote:What i meant by baby safe is that the logs around the outside are too big for a baby or toddler to climb on/over to get to the pond.

Sorry if it sounded wrong!!

ahhhh