Keeping Children Safe Around Your Pond
Apr 19th 2024
Many pond owners worry about the safety of people living in their homes, especially if there are kids involved. Teaching kids about safety around indoor ponds and keeping them safe is something that should be taken seriously. To avoid disasters and also be able to enjoy your pond in your garden, you need to take safety precautions to ensure your children and also the pond remain safe. Here are some pointers on keeping children safe around your pond:
Educate Kids
Children need to be under constant supervision especially when they are still at a very young age. You need to educate kids in a manner they will understand that they are in no way allowed to go near a pond without being accompanied by a grown up or when allowed to do so. Take occasional visits to the pond with them and keep reminding them of the dangers they might experience if they hang around the pond by themselves.
Use more positive reinforcement to encourage them to ask for permission before going by the pond and remember to thank them when they do ask for permission. Take time to explain how a pond works so that they don’t get too curious to find out this information on their own. Leave no mystery so that they don’t get the need to want to explore the pond on their own. Don’t forget to tell them how a pond can be dangerous and what would happen if they are not careful around it.
Supervise Kids
Children should never be left alone without an adult’s supervision even when they are in the house. Naturally, kids tend to wander off and they may find themselves by the pond. Without supervision, your kids will be exposed to dangers like drowning or getting serious injuries from falling into the pond. If you are unable to offer constant supervision for your kids, it is best to put protective measures in place. You can have a fence installed around your pond to keep them from getting near it. The best way to keep your children safe is to supervise them and intervene within an instant if need be. Do this until they are old enough to understand the risks involved when hanging around a pond.
Install Physical Barriers
You can impose imaginary barriers to let your child know how far they are allowed to go when out to keep them from the pond area. You should let them understand they should never cross marked barriers when alone or without supervision. However, you can never trust kids to do the right thing. It is still necessary to create physical barriers even after imposing imaginary barriers.
You can invest in wire fences that will put a barrier between your house and the pond. Wire fences are the best because a child will find it hard to cross it. You also have an option to use strong mesh pond covers.
Filling In
If you still feel your kids are not safe around the pond, have it filled in. Sadly this means you cannot enjoy your pond but it will keep them safe until they are older. You can always rebuild your pond again with time and enjoy it even more when you have less to worry about.
