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We just bought a pond kit and are in the planning stages as to where to put it. Would love to put it at our entrance, in one of our flower beds, under a tree....but this will expose our daycare children (although in the company of parents dropping off/picking up) on entry to a (small) body of water. Worried about safety? Anyone have one? Thoughts? Are there regulations against this (Ontario)?
A kid drown in their neighbours pond a few yrs a go. When they covered the incident on the news I believe they said that the owner was liable because it needed to be fenced in
I personally wouldn't do it. The liability is too great.
We have a pond smack in the middle of our backyard where my daycare kids play. It was there before I started daycare. We debated closing it and turning it into a sandbox (it's about 4feet by 6feet and about 18inches deep at the deepest).
In the end we opted to keep it (the waterfall and fountain are relaxing and the fish are fun). We fenced it in completely with a fence that is about 4feet tall. The fencing is decorative metal and is close together so there is no way to get through. It is not pretty...even with it being decorative metal. But, it keeps the kids out so we (sort of) still enjoy the pond. The bonus of now having the fence is it keeps the racoons out of the pond so our fish are finally safe!!
I wouldn't consider a pond if it is not fenced in with a tall, secure fence. Children are drawn to water. Our pond is in the back which is fully fenced in...I would certainly not consider installing it anywhere that random kids could access (ie front or side yard not fenced in).
I believe if the pond is deeper than 2 feet then it falls under the pool rules and needs to be fenced and gated in Ontario. But I'm not positive on this...I just know ours is not that deep.
If the pond were in the backyard and not fenced in, then yes I would be concerned, and it would be too great a liability. Since it is in the front flower bed, where kids will not be playing and will only be in the care of their parents it's not something I would worry about.
If you don't plan to fence it in then I would imagine you would give some prospective parents a reason not to bring their children to you for daycare. As for whether it is the front or back, even if the parents are responsible for their child out front, the liability is still possibly going to fall upon you and if an accident occurs the parents could sue. If I was in your position, I would have probably looked into regulations and any prospective safety issue before purchasing. Planning should really be done in advance and as I said, if you aren't planning on fencing it in, then in my opinion the risks outweigh the pros of having a pond with multiple children onsite....I'd be getting a refund.
we fenced our pond and put a lock on the gate. I personally wouldn't put one (we had ours before daycare).
Thanks everyone for your input:). We've decided to play it safe and put the pond in our big screened in room; an area I can easily lock off from the kids; but still allow them to peek in at it when I choose. It also will cut down on maintenance & allow us to get some fish too.