Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Other subjects
Original poster

GARDEN PONDs To keep or to fill...?

58 replies

jmum6 · 31/03/2006 13:10

We've a gardenpond right outside the back door. Ds is 7months but as yet not crawling.

We've been discussing what we should do with it, whether to fill it in, cover it with a grate or leave it as it is and teach ds to stay away from it.

What would you do?

OP posts:
spidermama · 31/03/2006 14:02

I LOVE having frogs. So do the kids. You're all mad. Grin

Kathy1972 · 31/03/2006 14:08

Agree with Spidey. Frogs are brilliant. Crucial part of childhood.

I mean if you're not going to have a pond with frogspawn why bother having frogs at all, quite frankly? Grin

Kathy1972 · 31/03/2006 14:08

I meant KIDS! Why bother having KIDS at all !!!! Wink

Original poster
jmum6 · 31/03/2006 15:03

So you can keep the frogs amused!

OP posts:
LipstickMum · 31/03/2006 15:07

We had a pond and got rid of it. It took up a lot of space in our already small garden, we had to decide between grass or pond. The risk would always be there and I would never feel relaxed about leaving the children in the garden, even if it had a grate. You definitely can't rely on teaching a child to stay away from something as a deterrent.

expatinscotland · 31/03/2006 15:28

Fill. I'd love one. When the kids are about 8 and 10.

joelalie · 31/03/2006 17:12

...I agree with Spidey and Kathy1972.. frogs are great! Also they eat slugs which really ARE a pest.

SoupDragon · 31/03/2006 17:16

Keep it! We had a pond when I was growing up and it was lovely.

Aren't cars/roads more of a death trap than a pond? Best fill those in too Wink

flatmouse · 31/03/2006 17:32

Keep it! We excavated our filled-in one - but installed \link{http://www.safapond.com/\this} - perfectly safe. Can now enjoy the fish/frogs/newts/plant-life/dragon-flies/etc..

zebrabra · 31/03/2006 17:55

couldn't agree more with spidermama, I love the frogs & newts. Admittedly, we have no trouble getting spawn for it from other people's ponds (who dislike native fauna invading their goldfish sanctuaries).

Our pond is out front, next to the hedge next to the lane. Has a grill over it strong enough that the kids can jump up and down on. Between road & pond, I have no doubt which is far more dangerous.

zebrabra · 31/03/2006 17:57

feel compelled to point out there's a \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?subtop=0&topicid=2200&stamp=060331153215&off=0&tot=325\Gardening topic} on mn that needs support, where this thread belongs.

jenkel · 31/03/2006 17:58

We also had a pond when I was younger and I never fell in, Mum said that it was never a issue with me. Though I do understand the safety aspect. Mum has a pond still in her garden and her grandchildren love it, my 2, 2 and 3 1/2 love it but when they go to look in they always stay well back, but they are never in the garden on their own. Not sure if I would want one but I do think its a shame, its lovely to have nature so close.

TinyGang · 31/03/2006 18:24

Please do fill it in. Is it worth the worry?Sad

Chandra · 31/03/2006 18:33

TBH having a pond is safer than having the kids strapped in their car seats at the back of the car. But, I would fill it out of laziness, not feeling as to keep my eyes open all the time worrying DS had got to the garden by himself.

Gem13 · 31/03/2006 18:36

Another vote for filling it in. It's not worth the risk. Not only would you worry about your DS but other people's children too when they come round to play.

Muriel Grey's daughter nearly drowned in a garden pond and it left her brain damaged. (Only found this because I knew her daughter had fallen in one and googled her to see if she was ok Sad)

hub2dee · 31/03/2006 18:58

We've got a small pond. Personally, I feel the educational value outweighs the risks, so we will be keeping it despite having a young baby / toddler... I will be buying some kind of grill though.

You can make a deep(er) pond more childsafe by building in a 'fake bottom'. A series of brick pillars can be laid and paving slabs placed over these. Cover with pebbles and then fill to however many inches you are comfortable with. Children then can't access the deep water, but the pond volume is still adequate to maintain wildlife. It doesn't look as crap as it sounds, promise !

Everyone must make one's own risk assessment on every facet of life; I personally feel that if every reasonable step is taken to make garden ponds safer and children aware of the dangers, a garden pond ranks low as a risk factor. I appreciate however there are posters, or friends / relatives of posters who know of children hurt or killed in ponds and so this is something that should be thought about very carefully, especially as "research shows that such incidents are more likely to happen in someone else’s garden".

Hulababy · 31/03/2006 19:05

I'd have to fill it in. I wouldn't want to take the risk.

littlerach · 31/03/2006 19:12

we didn't want the worry of them falling in.
Isn't it that children can drown in 2 inches of water or something similar?

Yes, I can see that a car/road is more dangerous, but I am able to prevent an accident by covering the pond for the tiomebeing.

If it was uncovered, I wouldn't dare turn my back whilst in the garden.

bensmum3 · 31/03/2006 19:52

We covered our pond with a grate and put a small fountain and stones on top, so we still had a water feature and frogs still used to come, but there was no risk of dd falling in as all the water flowed down through the grate.
Where we live now, we often have 2 huge deep puddles, just like ponds outside the gate, but ds2 has just learnt not to go near them. I would do whatever you personally feel comfortable with.

Original poster
jmum6 · 01/04/2006 22:44

Zebrabra - sorry didn't know about the gardening topic.

Anyway - pond update: Have emptied pond, dp took 30 frogs off on holiday to local lake, and have bought some decking (which probably will stay in it's separated state for many weekends to come propped up against garden fence)

The idea being that while ds is young we won't have the pond but will still be able to refill it if we want in the future.

Best of both worlds!

OP posts:
Kelly1978 · 02/04/2006 00:01

glad you've goty it all sorted. Smile

ShaysMummy · 02/04/2006 00:08

i was going to post last night but forgot.
frogs tend to go back to where they came from originally to spawn.
also, ponds are are very important to wildlife ie:great crested newts which are very rare.
there are probably tons more frogs in your garden and toads, lurking- under shed, in flower bed, under rocks, against fence etc etc.

wont the pond re-fill itself with rain beneath the decking?

dont mean to sound like an eco warrior but i love nature, especially waterlife, i also love kids so understand your fears of child falling in, but your kids could learn so much from it too.
:o

Original poster
jmum6 · 02/04/2006 15:44

ShaysMummy - no we took out the lining because we didn't want it to refill and dp says he will put breeze blocks in the hole to rest some of the decking on.

Hope he knows what he's talking about!

OP posts:
Original poster
jmum6 · 02/04/2006 15:44

And don't you lot ever go to bed?!!! :o

OP posts:
hub2dee · 02/04/2006 21:12

I subscribe to a discussion list about 'playscapes' (hard / soft landscaping for children incorporating areas and objects to stimulate creative play) and thought this quote was rather nice (it's a US list mianly):

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of...education"
-Luther Burbank