Swimming Pool Safety - advice please!

[OllieWollieWoo]

Found a villa in France for next year which ticks all the boxes in terms of price, location, size etc - and pool! My only concern is that its not fenced (built last year) - but has a cover and an alarm? Would this be safe enough with 2 busy toddlers running around?

Would appreciate advice and experience of others!

I'd be very uncomfortable. My parents bought a villa in the South of France a few years back and one of there absolute requirements was that the pool be properly fenced.

I know of children who have fallen into covered pools and got stuck in the cover and the alarm has failed to go off.

I am always very happy being at mum and dad's villa with our two children knowing full well that they can only get in if one of us grown-ups lets them in.

We always get great feedback from our rental guests that they have been totally happy with how safe the pool (and rest of villa come to think of it!) is!

HTH

No they would need total supervision while outside, not worth the risk.

my understanding is that the law in France states that all swimming pools - private, hotel, public, villa, you name it - HAVE to be fenced off. So am surprised you've found a pool that isn't. Having a cover is irrelevant - are you going to put the cover over every time you all get out of the pool? And a cover isn't necessarily child proof and could be worse if a child goes under the cover.

It will be safe if you spend every waking second watching your children but you won't be able to relax for a moment to read a book, close your eyes, sunbathe on your front even! I speak from experience having been to Italy this year ... the smaller children were fascinated by the pool and desperate to get in at every opportunity. My 1 year old fell in several times while I was standing next to him, friend's 2 year old was convinced he could swim without armbands and kept jumping in. and when my ds fell in he didn't make a sound. If I wasn't right next to him I wouldn't have realised quickly.

Like I say, it is possible but it is not relaxing. And I would never do it again - my holiday was booked before ds was mobile and I hadn't thought it through!

Thanks for the comments - think you all have confirmed what I thought - that it wouldn't be as safe as a fenced pool and that we wouldn't be able to relax for a minute!

I wish there was some consistency re the applying the law re swimming pools. I checked again and the house was def only built last year......

TheWheelsonTheBusHaveFallenOff - you don't have to fence off a pool in France. There are ways round it - for example, having an alarm that is deemed adequate and/or a specific cover.

Ultimately, it is a joke really as the law was introduced but there are so many ways round it.....

As far as I am concerned (and the usual feelings we get from other villa guests), the only really safe option is to have it properly secure by way of walls/fences etc

OllieWollieWoo - if you are looking for a 4 bed villa in the South with a SAFE pool, let me know!

Thanks Aznerak - I have seen your villa before and have the website saved on my favourites list (!) - but we want to go to the Poitiou Charente/Vendee area next year - am meeting up with friends! Maybe 2010???

No worries OllieWollieWoo! We already have a booking for 2010 so just let me know if it is what you decide on in the future

Good luck!

Now please dont flame me but pool fencing is something I get up on my high horse about. You will need to watch them every second you ar near the pool.
This happened the other day:
www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24716234-421,00.html
I dont like alarms as how do you know when they were last tested? Also kids can slip under pool covers and not get out as they are too heavy.
I am not trying to scare you but I get very vocal about this issue.
Have a good trip wherever you decide to go.