What age to allow child in pool solo?

[Monket]

Just curious what age the MN mind thinks is appropriate to allow a child (or two children together) to play alone in a pool, at a place like a holiday home / villa? Adults within shouting distance but not observing.

from 9 years old if there's a paid professional life guard on duty and a stern word about appropriate behaviour and consequences if I hear of bad behaviour.

wouldn't be happy until about age 14 or so if it was just an unsupervised pool.

9 but he is level 7 with his swimming. He freaks me out by loving to swim underwater and disappears for ages while I'm preparing to spring over the barrier and jump in. He has a lesson and then plays with one of his friends for half an hour.

Depends how good they are at swimming. And how easy it was to hear them at all times. And also to visually check frequently, like see them through the window or whatever.

As an adult our gym asks you to inform the front desk if you’re swimming solo so they can keep an eye on you (no lifeguard on duty during adult-only swim times)
My DC are 10 and 12 and competent swimmers. I would be happy to leave them in a pool if it was supervised by a lifeguard and they had each other - because they’re sensible enough to keep an eye on each other. Private pool such as a holiday villa then I would be out there keeping an eye on them (but not in the pool with them)
Back in the days of yore when I was a child I had quite a privileged background and most of my friends had pools in their gardens and we were always just left to our own devices from about the age of 8! Things were different back then!

Your own private pool it'd be 12 with 2 of them in there. Really, I think anyone just left in a private pool on their own can have an accident and drown, even if it was my husband in there who was a competative swimmer and lifeguard when we were at uni, I'd still bob out if he was in there on his own. I'm not remotely ott generally but you can drown really easily even if you are a good swimmer. You shouldn't rely on lifeguards even in a hotel pool that provides them, it's on you to supervise your kids.

´Children’ has several meanings.
I won’t be poolside when my kid is 25. They will still be my child though.
I think if any kids present were under 10 I would be poolside. All older + confident swimmers + no total daredevils in the group and I’d feel confident popping in and out.
Leaving them to it entirely I think I’d only do with full on competent swimmer teens (14+) any not if I thought they might possibly be nicking the parents wine or anything like that.

I don’t think even adults should swim alone.

In a pair, where each are competent swimmers and sensible enough to look out for one another, probably 14-15 but it would depend on how aware / risk averse they are.

My opinions on this have changed over the years.

A few years ago we were on holiday where an unsupervised teen drowned in a pool while swimming with siblings.

I also know of a local teen girl who drowned after having a fit in the pool a couple of years ago. 😔

I am definitely more cautious now.

I'd let them go in a lifeguarded pool from around 8.

I wouldn't have them unsupervised in an unlifeguarded pool until teens.

My son was allowed in the eurocamp holiday pool alone and with his holiday friends at 10 (nearly 11) unsupervised.

Looking back I didn't consciously decide on it it just seemed right - he is a tall strong and rather cautious boy and a confident swimmer and it seemed appropriate.

There was a lifeguard always on duty.

8 but again I wouldn’t ever leave my children unsupervised around water

There was lifeguard on duty at the Eurocamp holiday we were one when a teen drowned - he didn't see until it was too late 😢

Im pretty conservative, there are a lot of drownings. So 12 I think in a pool if sensible and a strong swimmer. I’m working on making all mine strong swimmers but you can’t just click your fingers and get a sensible child. 14/15 at the beach if a strong swimmer and by that I really mean surf life guard level. Good question though, I’ll ask my in laws who have 14 year old kids who are surf life guards. And at 16 you don’t get to make those rules anymore.