Daughter fell in the pond while looking for Mr Frog

[Shelly32]

While playing in the garden with my girls, one fell in our pond. She was only in for a few seconds but swallowed a little water, AIBU to worry about her getting sick/parasites from this? Getting a protective covering is now top of our list as a result of this first mishap!

I know it has been said before but please get a pond cover. My uncle died and he wasn't that young (6) in the family pond. My brother had to be revived at the age of 3. My mum was in the garden and she swears she only turned her back for a second.

Please please please make it safe.

wendy I'd say 4+ is ok and OFSTED must agree I imagine.

Don't mean to scaremonger but there may be a risk of secondary drowning. First aid course i went on said to get checked out as can show,quickly, a couple of days later.
I'm sure she'll be fine but just thought I'd mention it as it happens very fast and can be very serious.

There was the case a few years ago of a little girl who managed to duck out of the back door at her nursery and drown in the neighbours pond.
I think these things can happen so fast and in spite of adults' best intentions and plans. I'm so glad you are going to get the pond covered.

As one pp already mentioned, please be aware of Wells disease which can be present in any standing water (its from rats wee). Even clear water can have it in. So id second following the pp's link and getting clued up. Also, as others have said, watch out for symptoms of e-coli. Yes both are unlilely, but both can be bad enough that its worth getting clued-up on symptoms etc.

What a lot of scaremongers you all are! Good grief, I'm sure the little girl is fine.

You can't remove all water risks so it's a good idea for dcs to learn to swim from a very young age.

I'm a big fan of teaching dcs to assess and deal with risk rather than try to remove it all, as you can probably tell!

Noted that you have got the message about covering it up. To explain, I think that why there is quite a bit of scaremongering is that I suspect many of us were scared witless by public information films in the 70s and 80s, fed to us between He-Man and Inspector Gadget.
Lonely Water

I don't remember Lonely Water but found reference to it while googling the one I do remember, about a little girl in the garden. Eventually found it but it is still too awful to link to here.

Electricity Pylons anyone?

Oh yeah, and swimming from an early age? Rolf Harris was very clear on that point.

Please cover is up ASAP. I recently worked on legislation enforcing fencing of swimming pools, including ponds (not in the uk). I read many coroners reports about small children who drowned in ponds and garden pools. It was unnerving how quickly the incidents could happen and very often to families who let their attention slip just that one time for a minute.

It's not always about be able to swim though is it? The pond that my mum had in her garden was to shallow to swim in.

You can take them to the park / river etc to learn about frogs!!! Fill the pond in, you can not be sure they will never be unsupervised, things happen - why take even the smallest risk?

I'm with your mother on this one, and I'm very much in the laid back camp when it comes to childproofing! Maybe it's because a child drowned in a garden pond just down the road from me when I was growing up, the children were playing in the garden and they realised one was missing. She had fallen in the pond somehow and got trapped under the cover.

yabu, you need a fence or a grid around the pond. this won't stop the wildlife but would make the garden much much safer.

We all got cryptosporidium from pond dipping, so do watch out for that if she gets D&V.

Me, my sister and both my cousins have all fallen in grandpa's pond.

It was a standing joke that we were all being supervised by our fathers at the time.

Non of us fell in play on our own.

Eventually the pond became a rose bed, but till long after we were grown up.

Unfortunately, it's important to remember that children can drown in just a couple inches of water. Unless you have a door with a keyed lock that is always kept locked (that leads to the pond area), you cannot guarantee that your child may not get out there without your knowledge.

In the states, there are specific safety laws regarding pools and ponds, which include either a self-latching gate enclosing it or a door with a keyed lock leading out to it. And even then, there were drownings because people didn't always make sure the doors were locked or gates were propped open.

As someone who has had to talk a number of parents through CPR over the phone whilst emergency vehicles were enroute, I can assure you that "I don't know how they got out there" is something that was always said.

Oh dear! my little brother fell in a pond once. and my dad lost me in a park

ah relaxed 70s parenting eh!

Loads of children have died in ponds and do you know what, I bet every single one of those parents thought they'd have their eye on them every time they are out there.

It only needs a guest, or someone else to leave a door open and it could be too late. Sorry, very judgy, but I'm horrified by your blase attitude. Get a cover fixed and make it a priority

Sorry OP but you really need to get a pond cover. Lots of children have died in pond related incidents. There was an incident in my village a few years back, a little boy who was 3 drowned in his grandparent pond. It was awful!

Kits mummy - op has said she is now getting a pond cover so blasé attitude is a bit harsh

The OP said she was getting a cover in her OP ffs people!

FFS can you people read? OP said she is getting a cover and it is a priority. Her question was not wether to get a cover or not but if she should be worried about her DD contracting anything. I'd say you are alright OP. Just keep an eye on her.

I wonder how some people dare take small children to the beach!