Unsecured swimming pool

[khaa2091]

I am lucky enough to have been offered a winter holiday at family friends house in Sri Lanka, with my parents. The house is up on a terrace with a pool below on a different level. There is no fence around the pool and it is not visible from most of the house.
Dd will be just 3 and not very water proficient. I spend a lot of time in Australia, where pool safety is drilled into you. The setup terrifies me, but it seems ridiculous to decline the holiday. Thoughts?

You can buy floating pool alarms I think

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inground-Immersion-Rechargeable-Monitoring-16x32sq-ft/dp/B09YL2NCTZ/ref=sr_1_6?c=ts&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lQNSFufGz2_bt2yurdAye_7GD2buXdHgUg3zN2nu8OWzkviNyT5zY9PGMcaoortSPakXmuxMYO0MLA8hYSmAoprQEhERP7Y75Dq2deS2nDsvyExvJtsWguu8JGI9zxPk7iEVZMUWamcIwJ2gh8Te1--nTFhoDaTQ3_ujbOyddAyyhh_6iMoakVMUvDv98mFfmng0wv60sTknSJ26JMBNz1IkQ6lQzDUHrJmi7VTXEM4.71RQRmsBMk-42Zi0lNyAuzrh_zWdst3nBJfKVohRH-g&dib_tag=se&keywords=Pool+Alarms&qid=1720269541&s=outdoors&sr=1-6&ts_id=4364615031&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f

You will be supervising a 3 year ols.....

Am I missing something? Do you plan on leaving your 3 year old unattended?

I don't see what the problem is unless you plan to allow your three year old to wander unattended. Three year olds need constant supervision when you're out anywhere, this is no different.

No, I don’t plan on leaving her unattended, but just am worried about an unsecured pool and that she escapes for a few minutes.

You can't ever let a three year old escape for a few minutes anywhere, though. You're just going to have to be diligent. If you're needing time to yourself, your partner or another adult will have to take over and vice versa. Most importantly, don't assume the other parent/adult is supervising, because they may not be. That's how most child drownings happen.

Could you make a temporary barrier on the steps leading down to the pool? Or a large red rope/ribbon and she doesn't go swimming if she passes that point. not secure I know. Maybe an alarm which triggers if something walks past?

It amazes me how lax pool safety is in the UK. PIL's have a pool on the same level as the house/garden. One side has a gate which is warped and doesn't close, the other side if completely open. They also have a cover which is like bubble wrap, so if someone fell in- they'd either fall underneath the cover or get enveloped in it. I don't have children, but wonder how my nieces and nephews survived visiting there!

We have a movement alarm which we bought to stop MiL going for night wanders when she had dementia. You could set it up to alert if she goes in that direction. It's easy for adults to turn off when they go through.

You are right to be cautious OP. A friends child wandered off and drowned in the neighbours pool. They were supposedly supervised, but the adults miscommunicated. The child was 2. It devastated the family.

This is a massive thing in Australia before everyone wades in with OMG you just need to supervise.

it is illegal to have an unfenced pool and it hugely drilled into everyone how unsafe pools can be.

i wouldn’t go OP. You won’t be able to relax.