Stacey why should you a fence if you have children and a pool be law everywhere?
Because it prevents avoidable deaths, mostly of children. If you look at the Australian evidence, half the drowning deaths of children in swimming pools are due to pools that aren't properly fenced.
I think especially if you live in a house with a pool a fence is a good idea but also respect for water, need to swim properly and do not under any circumstances mess around near it.
The two are not mutually exclusive. And you can only instil those abilities and values in your own kids (not visitors or neighbours) and even then it isn't proof against accidents or moments of madness, which children can be prone to.
Suppose you have an indoor pool, is that the same, does that have to be fenced/cordoned off/locked entrance/exit to it too?
Yes. Indoor pools are subject to the code and doors and windows have to comply with child resistant safety rules - for example doors must be self-closing and self-latching, with the latch over a certain height.
I mean, obviously swimming pool safety isn't a huge issue in the UK because there are hardly any private swimming pools. It does my head in in the US though.
I grew up in a farming family in rural Australia. We had dams and a creek. My mother was terrified of us drowning, as is not uncommon in those sorts of places. You get distracted and your kid is down the paddock and face down in the dam in no time. So there was as much safety around the house when we were, say, under 10 as my parents could manage. In some ways it was like living inside a pool fence.
I'd never have a pond that was accessible to children. Too risky.