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.

😂 😂

How, how on earth would a 4 year old drown using a water table?

This is mad

"around" / in earshot but not constantly watching

Stick a camera facing the water table in the garden so you can check?

Yes. In a heartbeat.

Safety?

Just wait until you step outside of your house OP and discover that there are many things outdoors, and in the workplace, that can kill you or cause serious illness either instantly or long-term.

It's shit but that's how life is.

Yes I would have almost zero concerns about this. I am assuming it’s a few cm deep and not them in the water etc
If it’s just a table top thing what on earth are you worried about? I’d leave the back door open obviously and go out to check on them periodically.

One of mine had a huge imagination and never played with anything quite the way it was designed to be played with. I missed a trick not renting him out to toy manufacturers for risk assessments.

I’m certain he could have figured out several ways to drown himself as well as other creative death and injury scenarios with that piece of equipment.

My other child was far more predictable and less likely to climb, flip, attempt to dismantle/rearrange, create a vertical obstacle course with other garden toys, jump over it, overload it with rocks, etc.

It probably depends very much on the individual child, but I’d listen to the parent who spends most time with them.

Can you sit the baby monitor out there whilst you are inside? Even better if you have a camera type one.

or get a cheap pet cam or something off amazon that you can watch on your phone or put on a tablet in your eye view if you are busy with baby.

might give you that peace of mind

Water trays in nurseries don't tend to be the ones like the OP linked. If a child tried to climb the OPs one, it would fall over. The ones in nurseries are usually sturdier so they don't fall, ideally attached to a wall or similar, and deeper than home ones. More like a water pit than table. Even in nursery, children aren't supervised all the time.

I can't get over the cost of almost £100 for a bit of plastic - your link @wishIwasonholiday10

How mad is that?!

You don't have to fill anything like that to the brim.

To answer your question - yes.

But I'd be watching a 4 year old playing outside anyway. I'd not let them out of my sight for more than a few minutes.

Can't you watch out of the window in your house?

Ask the child what would happen if they got their nose and mouth under water for a minute or two?
Ask how they would move their head out of the water?

If they clearly have no clue, don't leave them unsupervised. The reason young children can drown in an inch of water is because they don't

1. know that keeping their nose and mouth underwater would stop them breathing
2. link feeling like they can't breathe, to needing to get their head out of water
3. actually understand that by moving their head can free them

If they are four but don't know not to put their head under, don't leave them

All guidelines say never leave a child unsupervised with a water table. Why not read the actual guidance instead of listening to a load of faceless posters outdoing themselves to prove how water savvy their kids are.
it only takes a few seconds for things to go wrong.
its no biggie to sit in the garden too in the shade with the baby sleeping or , you know, don’t put water in the water table if you can’t supervise your child appropriately.

Fine then, just leave the kids unattended near all danger so they’re fully prepared for adulthood 😵‍💫🤯
do we not learn anything from serious safeguarding reviews and coroners courts and frequent horrendous drowning headlines ?
what is this gung ho attitude?
Our kids are only small for a very short time. It does not kill us to drop everything for a while and chill with them outside.
do gardening, hang out laundry, play with the baby, read a bloody book, idk, anything but leave a small child unsupervised with a large receptacle containing water.
what if they run toward it and trip?
what if they slip and fall face down into it?
what if they try and climb on it ?
what if they decide to blow raspberries in there and choke?

I would also include Uni readiness, judging by some of the stories I hear from family having to deal with 18 year olds many of whom should still be in reins, they're so inept.

This. We have a field behind our house that we (and the owners) allow our 4yo to play in. These are school age kids ffs.

So at what age do you stop? 7? 9? I honestly don't see how my 5 year old is more likely to drown than my 7 year old, and a freak accident could happen anywhere in the house anyway.

Water tables aren't easy to do this things though. Likes previous poster I am struggling to see how a 4 year old could fall and drown in one.

Running and tripping is irrelevant to the water table and kids can do that while you were with them. Only of mine could trip over a bloody blade of grass

If they slip and fall into it Not usually enough round to drown as there's tours etc taking up space.

If they try and climb on it they could fall, same as trying to climb on anything, a parents presence doesn't stop that

Again most tables designed so you couldn't put a whole head in

I didn't see the OP link by my DD has this and it would be bloody difficult to accidentally drown in it

Came here to say this. They climb trees at my son’s school. And when I collected him from after school club the other week I found him grinding chalk “making potions” in a bucket of water with one other child. The adults supervising were at the other end of the football field engaged with half a dozen other children. They’d have had no idea what they were doing.

frequent horrendous drowning headlines ?

Infrequent, hence them making the news. Never seen a water table related drowning.

How are you better supervising when reading as book? You sound very over protective, put the book down, anything could happen!

You could teach you children how to swim! That’s the most important thing for kids to learn.

My DD 4yr is currently having a treat dinner away from us in a different room, some people would say not to do this as they may choke…!!!!! She’s fine and I’ve told her that if I shout are you okay she must respond. She’s fine playing with some water and mud.

not unsupervised with any water a child can drown in inches of water

And where does it say I don’t teach my children to swim?

Being able to swim, as all 6 of mine could by 4, doesn’t make it ok to leave them unsupervised around water. Nobody in their right mind thinks a 4yo should be around any kind of pool without an adult.

However, swimming ability is totally irrelevant to tuff trays of water or water tables as the thread is discussing.

of course! Why not? I let my 18 month old play unsupervised in the mud kitchen and the water play table. But for the pool we have a high fence around it so the kids cannot go without us.