Would you let a 4 year old play unsupervised in the garden with water table?

[wishIwasonholiday10]

My husband and I had a disagreement about this. Would you let an almost 4 year old play unsupervised in the garden with a water table and mud kitchen? The garden is fully fenced with no access to the street.

We both agree no unsupervised play with a paddling pool but disagree on the water table.

Yes absolutely

Absolutely.
I presume the biggest worry is drowning, but how is that supposed to happen? The child would need to collapse, land face forward and not slide off the table, this is all so unlikely that I wouldn't even worry about it.

Nope. Not worth the risk when water is involved imo.

I would leave them unsupervised and think I left mine younger than 4 too.

The risk of them slipping and wedging themselves face down in that water table is tiny. Literally tiny. The thing would more likely collapse or tip first.

Mine used to spend hours in the garden with the patio doors open without us. We could see them perfectly well through the window.

Exactly. The water table would be likely to tip over at that point anyway. So many short apron strings.

That's enough MN for me today!
The mothers must either be bored to death sitting watching a child play for hours on end or the poor child gets to play for a few minutes until they have to stop because mummy needs to get on with other jobs and won't leave them to play.

But common sense must prevail, and water isn't really involved at all. The table would collapse or the child slide off if they fainted onto the table (I've never heard of a healthy 4 year old fainting but presumably it is possible). The water would slosh out and the child would be unaffected by it. The water in this instance holds no danger.
It's almost like religious zealots not allowing themselves to see basic facts. They just have "water? NO" with no rational thought.
The tiny, TINY chance of danger would be smaller than getting in a car to drive to the shops or having an upstairs in your home or leaving the hallway light switched on.

Tbh if a child was falling unconscious such that they might collapse in a water table and drown, even standing on a patio is unsafe for them as they could fall unconscious and collapse smashing their head on the patio.

Some people on this thread are insane you cannot eliminate all risk from your child's life and you would drive yourself mad doing so.

Do you allow your 4 or 5 year old to walk upstairs unaccompanied even though they could fall head first downstairs? Of course you do, because you've assessed that the risk is low. Same applies here. You cannot follow a 4 year old around continuously - and when they start school and are in a class of 30 you can bet there is a water table and no the teacher is not standing ardently watching the 2 children using it.

I wouldn’t. I was laid back when my two were younger - bar water and fire. But my cousin died age 2 - my aunt popped in to answer the phone, not realising a ditch in her large garden had a couple of inches of standing water in it. ( this was in the States in the 1970s btw; it has just always scared me. I just can’t help the ‘what ifs’.

I’ve just come back from a holiday where my 4 year old has been doing ski jumps (little ones!). I can’t imagine being so scared of minute risks that you wouldn’t let a child be unsupervised while you get on with jobs. Do you not drive anywhere with your kids because there’s a slight risk of crashing? Everything comes with a certain element of risk. You can’t live your life terrified of every tiny possibility of something going wrong.

Yes as long as its small bowl fulls of water. I have a mud kitchen in my fully enclosed garden and a small water play area my kids have all played in the garden since this age without me. However I do have patio doors i can see the play area from so tended to be in the kitchen when they were younger.

OP the water toy you posted is similar to the size I had (still have) although maybe slightly deeper. Its been fine. I am hugely wary of water to. I have also used tuff trays with water which the kids loved as they could splash in them and put water toys in them etc.

I’d pop in and out, get a cup of tea etc. I wouldn’t be worried about the water table at all.

Basically whenever mine showed signs of entertaining themselves I backed away as quickly as possible!

No. A toddler requires continuous supervision in and outside of the home.

The joy of having a garden is the kids play, take some risks and get a bit of independence in a world of micromanagement. A 4 year old and a water table is fine. I would always supervise with a pool at that age but a water table doesn’t need the same level of supervision.

The most dangerous things mine have ever done tend to relate to our climbing frame but it is the sort of play that is active and good for them re risk taking. I will keep an eye from a window and occasionally tell them to stop if they’re doing something completely stupid.

This isn't a toddler though. A 4 year old who lost likely will be in school September

Bit different to a 15 month old toddler like myDGD

If they won’t drown in the loo then….

I am very risk adverse. VERY (paramedic)!
I would 100% let my 4 year old do that

If the garden has a fence then yes I would

4 year olds are not toddlers!

When was the last time (or first time) a fox attacking a 4 year old in their garden (or actually anywhere) was reported??

jesus wept.

A toddler does, did you miss the bit where this child is (almiost) FOUR.

Posts like this really make me despair for Reception teachers. Plenty of children start school in the weeks after they turn 4, even the next day in some cases. Children need some level of independence to develop life skills.

Absolutely fine by me and both of mine have made it to adulthood

Exactly. Even in the rare cases where it's reported that a baby has been hurt by a fox, it usually turns out later to have been the family dog. And a 4 yo is many times bigger than a fox.