? for AG pool owners with kids

[zebfam]

Well starting another year and still on the fence about investing in a AG pool.
We did alot of research last year but I still am on the fence.

We have 3 children (ages 3 and almost 6) and I wondering if they are still too young and we should just wait till they are a bit older to get the pool :confused:

Any advice??

[GraceByDesign]

3 children + 2 ages = a set of twins?? :D

Do any of them swim at all?

Over the course of 8 summers, beginning when dd was just shy of a year old, we worked our way up from the 'turtle sandbox', through several sizes of snap-sets that we rigged with a sand filter, and then on to the blue donuts. Our plans were to get a permanent AGP this year, but the budget will not allow for it, again. :(
IMHO, if your children don't swim yet, you may want to start with something smaller (and shallower) for a couple of summers. As CarlD (or maybe Poconos) says, you get just as wet in a donut pool!

[zebfam]

My daughter who is almost 6 loves to swim and my son does pretty well but has not been exposed to the water as often as my older daughter.
We were considering a intex metal frame BUT I am too concerned about the safety issues with a non enclosed pool. My son is a climber !!

[Kimrst]

My frame pool didn't happen till both my kids were in HS and then only because I wanted/needed something to relax in with a cool beverage after working all day. I agree with Grace, save your $$ and try a little pool and see how it goes. Both my kids leared to swim in school in swimming programs. (They taught them how and then our daughter went on to swim competitively in HS.) I don't think I would have liked the risk of having a pool in my yard when they were very small. A splasher pool where they can frog around more safely, without spending a lot of $$ might just be the thing to try before you go to the expense of installing a big pool. Good Luck and welcome to the group. Kimrst

[JohnT]

We had an 18ft temporary pool for several years when the kids were little. We loved it and knew that we wanted a permanent pool someday. This was before the donut pools that are much easier to setup. The real downside is the inadequate filtration system. It works fine when everything is closely watched, but as soon as it gets a little off it's harder to recover than with a "real" filter.

[CarlD]

OK, here's my take: You have choices.

An Intex up to 15 across can be as little as 30- 33 inches deep--your 3 year old should be able to stand in 30 inches of water, or less.

If get a ladder, the ladder comes out after swimming.

Intex makes VERY tight-fitting covers--a 3 year old MAY tear it, but will he climb on it? I don't know. A temporary fence may be appropriate.

Also, IMHO, a 3 year old should NEVER be in a yard unsupervised, especially if there's a pool there.

OTOH, if you get a standard AG pool, get one with a deck and fence. Plus, most places, code demands a self-closing gate that denies access to the ladder. It's not that hard to keep a pool safe.

But when I had my Intex, my older kid was already 5 and very reliable for a 5 year old, so he could be trusted not to go near the pool unsupervised.

My pool has a VERY tight fence and absolutely toddler-proof fence. No horizontals to climb on, 3.5" spaces between the pickets (4" is the max allowed), a gate with 1.75" spaces, a Magna-latch lock that the release is a foot above the gate-which, along with the fence is 4' high. My 2 year old isn't even tempted to try, it's so daunting. And he's been in it since he was 6 months old.

[NWMNMom]

We had a temp pool, then an 18' pool for many years before our large one, including when the boys were very small. Kids can drown in any amount of water and need supervision ALWAYS. The proper supervision and security are required no matter what you have in the yard, even little splasher pools.

JMHO, but if everyone will be using the pool (adults included) and you are going to invest, invest once in what you will have and enjoy for years to come instead of putting up, taking down cycle every year. That is what made us decide to go for the big one and be done. Best idea we ever had. Sure there is a "bit" more maintc with the larger one, but surprisingly not that much more really and EVERYONE can enjoy it. We LOVE our pool.

[matt4x4]

Got my pool when my son was 3, he learned to swim that summer, but until he was good, always wore a lifejacket and was not allowed near the pool without an adult to this day (now 7) , adult supervision is a must - an AG with no deck is a bit easier to keep "locked" than an IG pool though.

[CarlD]

You see, I disagree with NWMNMom: I don't think investing $20,000 or $50,000 or more in a pool is a good idea just to learn you HATE maintaining or don't really use it.

We got a 15' round Intex Donut. I had SO much to learn: Like I thought my back yard was level when it wasn't. I had to build a platform 16x16 that was level. I built it out of old decorative stone we had taken off our fireplace and chimney and filled it with sand--it was even with the ground at one corner and over at foot high at the diagonal! That was my FIRST lesson!

We used it for 3 years. I learned that if I tossed in a floating lounge chair and got into it with a glass of iced tea or a beer, and just floated, it was just like being in a big pool. And I got just as wet and relaxed. If THAT is what you like to do in your pool, you don't need much. My kid was 5 and just learning to swim and it was PERFECT to splash in.

Next, I learned many (not all) the ways you can mess up your water, especially that first year. Luckily at the end of the season I could dump the water and put away the pool, and start the new year fresh. I had just found this site and was just starting to learn how EVERYTHING the pool store guys told me was wrong. Everything. That's why I had cloudy swirls of white stuff.

So, after 3 years, when I put in a BIG pool, I had full confidence in what I wanted, what would work for us, and how to maintain the water. I've had a few minor problem since then, but people here helped me QUICKLY diagnose what was wrong and fix it.

So, after 3 years I was ready and confident enough to actually invest in a pool, without fear it would be a huge mistake. I was right, we love it, and are in it almost every day in the summer.

[court475]

We have 2 and 7 year old daughters. They both LOVE the pool. We got a 24' AG last summer and it's been a great investment. Easy to maintain with BBB too! Obviously they are NEVER in the pool without an adult, and the ladder is NEVER attached while they are just outside playing. The 7 year old can swim by herself, and the 2 year old always has floaties plus an adult next to her.

[sevver]

We got a pool when our first one was like 3, and the second was not born, now they are 10 and 6 and last year the little one took off swimming everywhere alone, with supervision in the pool of course. We are expecting another one here and will raise it in the pool too. With proper supervision and keeping things like ladders locked up, there should be no problems.

[zephans]

I agree with the staged pool approach. You learn about pool maintenance while kids learn how to play safely in a pool.
STAGE 1: Splash city (1yr - 7yr old kids)

Get ~8'x4' x2' high rectangular pool with 3 inflatable wall tubes. This thing was great for kids and friends to splash like maniacs in relative safety (except when they collide). Put in as much or little water as they need to have fun. Start by inflating only top or top and bottom tubes for lower "toddler" profile. Dump each week like I did (or start playing a little with chemicals to extend). DON"T LEAVE KIDS UNATTENDED near water - you can always dump the little pool quickly if needed.
BONUS#1: Put the slide side of a freestanding kid's 4' high ladder slide. Kids love it!
BONUS#2: Put just a couple inches of water in it on a slight incline (with drain plug in lowest corner) - now it's a slip'n'slide with bumper walls. That's great alone or can combine with kid's slide.
STAGE 2: Training Donut: 10'-18'd x ~3'(?) high Donut (5yr - 9yr)

We got our first ~$160 10' "Donut" inflatable ring pool from WalMart about 4 years ago. Great fun! We upgraded 2 years ago to a 12' pool but last year we definitely outgrew it. At first We only filled it about 2'-2.5' deep at first so kids and I could get used to the bigger pool area. Great fun. As kids got comfortable and could safely recover from slipping we added more water. Cartridge filter did just fine... in fact we used same cartridge for two years.
LEARN & PLAN:

We learned a lot about green algae and keeping on top of the water conditions :D.
We learned what level means during first installation and now know that grading will be super-important(tm) for our AG project. (This was a cheap mistake to make (and easily fix) with a donut pool ).
We confirmed how much the pool will be used.
We learned the water is freezing cold most the time in Seattle WA area :eek:. My Daughter was the only one who could swim without a wet suit for more than 5 minutes. Needless to say we are planning on buying good solar heating :p.
We had two years to plan out our pool purchase and what options we wanted to get when we made the leap.STAGE 3: The BIG ONE

For our back yard the biggest we can squeeze in is about 12'x24' oval (no buttresses). We plan to integrate with our existing deck. I'll be posting a couple questions shortly then I'm off to the store (Internet or local classifieds if I'm really lucky)

There are still a ton of options to work out, even with this "small" pool.
Hope this is helpful. Our kids are now 6.75 and a tall 9.5 year old and love swimming. They've been taking classes at the YMCA for over a year now. Our daughter just graduated to "Fish" and is looking forward to being able to swim laps. It was sad to watch her try practicing crawl stroke last year in our 12'd donut.