Garden pond and new baby

[pondwoman]

I moved into a new house last year. There’s a large pond in the back garden (about six feet wide by four feet deep) which I loved when we bought the place, despite the fact that it does need a lot of TLC and I have no clue how to look after it!

However, I’m now pregnant with my first child, due this spring, and am wondering what to do about the pond.

I’m really loathe to remove it, mainly due to the frogs that use it in the summer. I know ponds are very valuable to wildlife, especially as we live in a city. On the other hand, I’m nervous about the danger it could pose to my child once they start walking and playing in the garden, especially as it’s so deep. Obviously that won’t be for a while yet but I’m just thinking ahead.

WWYD?

We don't have a pond but I have to follow my toddler to make sure he doesn't put stones in his mouth.

sounds like mine... he'd find a way to make a padded room dangerous.

Whatever you decide please do it as soon possible. A relative of mine lost her 2 year old grandson through drowning in a pond. He had wandered outside whilst his mum was on the telephone. The grid for the pond arrived the day after he died.

We have a swimming pool and the concept is very simple - make sure it is completely inaccessible unless you are there, so in your case a child proof fence.

The fucking hysteria on mumsnet is unreal sometimes. Where do you draw the line?

Never in a million years would I have a pond if I had kids.

I wouldn't have one minutes peace in my own home.

Fill it in.

It soubds like you can do a lot to make it safe based on pp suggestions.

Is it a breeding ground for mosquitos though, I'd be worried about that, maybe do some research and see whether anything could be put in to prevent them from laying eggs.

We inherited a pond which I did love but filled in once we had children. If you want preserve it for wildlife I would use the grill and make sure it is properly securely fitted.

A fence is not enough on its own.

Relying on always closely supervising your child is absolutely not enough on its own.

It is very American and most advice relates to pools but The Judah Brown project is a great water safety charity with some advice on fencing and supervision.

Excellent information here from RoSPCA.

If it was me I would fill it in. I’ve heard of too many drownings. Children are drawn to water and supervising visiting children would be a nightmare.

I have a small pond. I put large planters around it with no gaps when my daughter was young and never left her un supervised. It worked fine.

Sorry I meant RoSPA. Must preview my posts more often!

How is it unrealistic to not let a child be outside alone? Lock the door or go out with them.....or fill the pond in

If you are able to keep the pond I would. We have newts, frogs, tadpoles. Dragon flies and hedgehogs visit. It's a real feature in the garden.

Before our children arrived we did have an instance where we caught the neighbours child come over the back fence for his ball. When we spoke to the neighbours about it we said about the pond as a reason not to just come round without asking. They weren't at all fussed about not knowing where their child was but I don't think I could have lived with myself if he had come to harm even though it wouldn't have been our fault if had been there unsupervised..

I would always want a pond covered. I don’t think the issue is you on your own with a baby. You’d always be supervising. It’s when you’d want to give a slightly older child some independence to play or if you’ve got a big group and not 100% who is supervising or there are lots of children. They can also massively surprise you and do something very unexpected. As an example, we had no idea our 2 1/2 year old could open our french windows. One morning while we were still in bed she snuck out of her room, unlocked our french windows and we found her screaming on the top of her climbing frame just in a nappy. It was a big shock. She had never even gone downstairs in the morning without us and we thought she was still in her bedroom sleeping.

Many drowning incidents in children occur when people did not realise the child had wandered off, despite intentions of never letting that child out unsupervised.

It is not sensible to rely on just one safety measure. Multiple safety measures are needed.

How is it unrealistic to not let a child be outside alone? Lock the door or go out with them

Accidents do happen though.

And just to say - I definitely won't be leaving it uncovered, that's 100% not an option and way too dangerous IMO. Having read the responses, I'll either install a grid and fence or remove it altogether. I'm leaning towards the first option, as it sounds like there are some really good solutions out there.

Glad to hear you are looking at getting it sorted OP

Accidents of course do happen but that could be said about practically anything.
I would make it child proof and safe with a grid/fence combination.

Your child will love learning about nature through it.

I'd fill it in. No question about it.

Fencing alone is not good enough as you then have to be on your toes ensuring that stuff isn't put against the fence as a climbing aid.

The grid over the pond, should securely fixed in the surrounding ground. It should be able to bear the weight of a child falling on without bowing. Someone mentioned below-surface grids. Not a good idea as you can drown in shallow water.

With sensible precautions you can have a lovely pond and keep your child safe.

Our friends have a pond and two young boys. They’ve got a pond safety grid and the dad tested it with his body weight - it held no problem.