Paddling pools

[SailAwayWithMeHoney]

I'm looking at buying a paddling pool for my DS but having never bought one before I'm feeling a little dumb!
The one I've found is just a bog-standard, round, step in step out pool. Not very deep, nothing fancy.

Do I need to buy chlorine tablets for it? How do I keep bugs etc out?
And...how do you empty a paddling pool?! Is there a way to do it without flooding the garden?

They only tend to go in them, when it is a very hot, dry period, so your garden won't in any way mind having the water tipped out on to it - if you want to spread it around, then just empty some buckets on to different plants - your ds will do this.

You can't really keep little flies and bits of grass out of it - but then, why would you need to ?

Never used - nor heard of anyone using - chlorine tablets in my life. If they have the pool out the next day, I tended to start with fresh water anyway.

just fill it on the day you want it. At the end of the day, the kids can scoop the water out in buckets and water the plants (or the parents if it is hot).

Ah thank you both!

We're the same as pp, only used on really hot days and emptied everyday as my dd puts all manner of things in there as well as suncream, lollies dripping and general toddler mess!
Chlorine tablets are for bigger pools like the structured sided 10ft pools which you can't empty everyday.
Weve usually gone for inflated paddling pools byt this year we bought the water and sand play set from argos, essentially 2 moulded lids which in 1 you put the sand and in the other water and it's so easy to empty as it's firm plastic. Then the empty water pool covers the sand pit overnight. It was cheap too! www.argos.co.uk/product/3650691

We have a big inflatable pool and it's filled with warm water (hose attached to hot&cold mixer tap hanging out of the bathroom window). Emptied every evening. I unplug the bungs and as the pool collapses and the water floods out the kids love sliding on their tummies in it.
Filled in the morning if it looks to be a nice day. Or even a mediocre day because if the water is warm it's great fun anyway.

Out of the 365 days in the year it's a very small percentage of days we fill the pool so it's really not that expensive. And I'm normally quite thrifty

I have fond childhood memories of running through the garden sprinkler with my friends - slightly less effort than a paddling pool