Yeah, we actually passed up many a house because they had pools in our recent househunting. I am extremely paranoid about this and would not be at ease even with my own young children. However, I also recognize that if you are a diligent caregiver who never leaves the children unsupervised and the pool is gated and locked as yours is, it is probably okay. For me it just wasn't worth the risk or the stress. This is such a sad story and my heart goes out to the family...and the daycare providers involved as I know if a child died on my watch I would not be able to live with myself. This is why playdates with caregivers have been banned...and while I would love some adult company, I do understand the reason. 22 children, no matter how many adults, can get pretty chaotic and one has to be very diligent to keep track of your own five. I actually leave the park when it gets too busy for the same reason.


Quote Originally Posted by Dreamalittledream View Post
Wow. Extreme lack of judgement on this daycare provider's part. It's hard; I'm sure the parents of the little guy did their due diligence, they thoroughly checked out their provider, inspected her home and left him there daily with the knowledge that he was safe. Perhaps they even turned away other day homes because they had a pool. And then this happened, an event out of their control. How very sad. And the punishment...$2,000 and 12months probation? Ticked off parents? Rightly so!

That said, I do have a pool (inground) in my backyard, it is fenced in (along with our trampoline behind a 6ft fence, made to be impossible to climb) away from the rest of our yard, has a locked gate (padlock, which only comes off on non-daycare hours) as well as an alarm that goes off if anything goes in it when our secure lock (the winter cover...the one elephants can walk on) cover is not on. Am I paranoid much?! I certainly am. Would my daycare kids get anywhere past that gate...heck no!!! Almost did not buy the house because of the pool.