Slide into paddling pool

[Custardslice3]

Just that really! I’m wondering whether other people put their garden slide into the paddling pool. To me it’s an obvious thing to do and my son absolutely loved it when he was 4/5/6 but it did eventually wreck the little pool we had. Now he is much bigger (11, but well built) and he is desperate for me to set this up again so I’ve been searching to figure out the best pool to put at the bottom. It can’t be too deep as the slide coming over the edge pulls the side of the pool down, but the tiny 3ft pool like we used to use would be too small for him to land in now I think.

But as I’ve been looking, I can’t really find any evidence that other people do this, and it’s made me wonder whether there is a blindingly obvious reason e.g. a safety issue, that I’ve missed.

Does anyone else set up their slide like this?

(Im talking a 2m garden slide, not a toddler slide)

Yes with a towel under the end of the slide to protect the pool. Endlessly entertaining for dc

Yes my kids did this 20 years ago - and also put the paddling pool on top of the trampoline with the slide going into it! Fantastic fun - the dog joined in as well 🤣🤣🤣

Yes with a piece of pipe lagging on the end of the slide to stop it puncturing the pool.

That’s a good call. I didn’t put anything under the edge before and actually it wasn’t that which damaged the pool, it was the force of my son slamming into the side of it which eventually popped the inflatable rings 😆 but if I’m buying a bigger and more expensive pool then I’ll definitely do this to protect it.

I’m going to take this sample size of 3 as reassurance that I’m not being negligent, and get it set up again this week!

Sounds great to me!!

+1

id pup both pipe lagging/swim noodle in the edge AND an old towel BUT if hes a well built 11 year old ud fully expect the pool to get wrecked fairly quickly.

depending on the space/finances id look at the kind of pool/slide designed for thus.

We have a slip and slide long mat which goes at the bottom and then we put the hose at the top of the slide. So not a pool but essentially just a giant thick mat which keeps on going as long as you want it to!

When the Gdcs had a paddling pool, the (plastic) slide was often put into it on hot days. Very popular!

Mine loved it when small but realistically at 11 a Slip n slide might be better!

If you really want a pool... a rectangular one might work?

We used to have slide extensions, not sure if you can still get them. They were fantastic, 30 m plus

Yes- we have a raised flower bed that we put the slide on, slightly overhanging the pool underneath. Lots of fun!

Ok. The kids did tend to land in a flower bed!

My mum used to do that for me and my brother 35 years ago.

I think he's probably too big. We did it for a couple of summers but like a PP the force of the child hitting the opposite wall split the pool. The issue with a bigger pool is the end of the slide floats in the deeper water

Lots of things to consider here! I also think a slip n slide would be better/easier now he is bigger, but he’s not keen and we don’t really have the space. It’s the splash into the pool he is after. Although 11, he has additional needs and in many ways is more like a 4/5 yo developmentally. He’s struggling at the moment to find things he wants to do, and if I can make this work it will likely keep him entertained for some time and in doing so make life much easier and happier for us both!

@Moltenpink I really like the idea of having the slide raised up, so he’d splash into the water more, but I’m not sure I can pull that off safely in the space we have.

@AmelieSummer25 what kind of pool are you thinking of? I’ve had a look, but can’t really see anything being sold like this that isn’t either a tiny toddler pool with slide, or the other extreme of actually having a swimming pool built (would have to win the lottery and move house for that to be an option sadly, as it would be amazing for my son!)

Posted too soon and unable to edit…

My mum used to do that for me and my brother 35 years ago. One hot summer’s day, she set it up and we had all the kids from the street playing on it in our garden. I had chicken pox at the time and had to sit inside and watch everyone having fun outside. I was so sad to be missing out, especially whilst I was so itchy and miserable. What made it even worse was the bottom of the slide ripped the pool (which had been a recent birthday present to me). It was irreparable and my parents couldn’t afford to replace it. I was heartbroken. So yeah, lots of fun while it worked, but the injustice of having my birthday present broken while I wasn’t even there was devastating.

I'll see if I can find an image in the morning

if I win the lottery I'd help you out!!

it's very hard when they have additional needs & are much bigger physically than is appropriate for the things they still want to do. 🫩🥰

That must have been SO hard for you & still be upsetting 🌷.

Yeah, that sounds totally rubbish @CloseTheCurtainsPlease - boo!!

We did this! We had a large Little Tykes slide going into a big rectangular paddling pool - it was one of those turquoise pools with clear side-walls, from Argos. My DC loved it, and the pool didn't seem to be negatively affected. I always insisted with any slide (in a playground or in the garden) that they go down feet first rather than head first, and obviously they were always supervised when using the pool. If you follow these two rules, I think it should be quite safe.

We used to do this as kids! Seem to remember that I put breeze blocks underneath the end of the slide to help it reach the paddling pool which sounds quite unstable haha. But great fun! I was also wondering the other day if it's safe for our kids - but we've only got a small turtle paddling pool which is quite hard so wondering if they might hurt their backs when sliding in 🤔