Swimming pool laws

[Charles]

If a small child lives anywhere near your home, common sense will tell you what to do. If you don't have common sense, county government will tell you what is required. As populated as this area is becoming, the question should have been 'how high should the fence be'.

 

[Speedy70]

If a small child lives anywhere near your home, common sense will tell you what to do. If you don't have common sense, county government will tell you what is required. As populated as this area is becoming, the question should have been 'how high should the fence be'.

This isn't a question about MY common sense. We have a fence around OUR pool (as I stated earlier in this thread). I asked this question because of a pool I saw yesterday that does NOT have a fence. It appeared that these people have children as well.

 

[greyhound]

If a small child lives anywhere near your home, common sense will tell you what to do. If you don't have common sense, county government will tell you what is required. As populated as this area is becoming, the question should have been 'how high should the fence be'.

I live within walking distance of the bay, I haven't asked my community or the county to fence off the beach so that my kids don't fall in. Just playing devils advocate for a moment

 

[Tinkerbell]

Just to play "Devil's advocate" . . . Why should I be mandated by law to put a fence around my pool (on private property, mind you) just so that someone else can be irresponsible and let their kids run wild and unsupervised without having to worry about the consequences?

Aren't we actually enabling those sorts of irresponsible parents to continue in their current mode of operation by making it safe for their children in spite of them not doing their job?

I'm all for keeping kids safe, but that is primarily the parents' job. Yes, we have a responsibility as a part of the society and as human beings in general to conduct ourselves in a way that will not endanger another person if possible. However, there is something wrong when, little by little, the primary responsibility for a childs safety is shifted away from that child's parent(s) and forced onto everyone else.

Besides, there is so much water (rivers, creeks, ponds, etc.) around here that it is absurd to have a law mandating a fence around a 10ft. pool but have the entire Chesapeake Bay (plug in your closest body of water) in your back yard wide open. What are they going to do? Are they going to pass a law that every body of water must be fenced off? That would never pass. Why? Not because it is ridiculous, but because it would have a negative impact on the environment somehow or the other - some turtle or something wouldn't be able to get to it's breeding ground or some such thing.

Things have become so cockeyed that there are people out there that are far more concerned about the propogation of some obscure animal species (or whatever their 'pet' cause is) than they are about holding parents accountable - holding them responsible for their own kids' wellbeing.

(Posted by voter's wife)

I understand what you're saying, but ... I have new neighbors moving in next to me. They have three children under 5 years old. I usually put up my 14 foot blow up ring top pool every summer for my little one. It's not a permanent structure, so I have no fence. I usually put a tarp type pool cover on it to keep bugs out, etc. But that doesn't stop a kid from being able to get in. I know these children well that are moving in next door (they are my sister-in-laws kids, my niece and nephews) and I know that they lack some discipline. I'm honestly worried about them getting in the pool with me not there and their parents not knowing so I'm not putting the pool up this year. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to one of them. And it has nothing to do with them being my nieces and nephews. I couldn't stand the thought of ANY kid drowning in my pool. It only takes a couple minutes for it to happen. Should their parents keep control of them better? Yes. Ideally all parents would discipline and supervise their children properly, but that's not reality. Even if the State punished parents for thier kids drowning in a neighbors pool on private property, the kid is still dead. Since it's not an ideal world, I will do what I have to to protect kids from their owns parents shortcomings.

 

[Tonio]

I used to assume that the fence laws were designed to protect the privacy of women at their home pools. I remember an episode of CHiPs where a photographer was causing a traffic jam by staging a bikini shoot along a major highway, and Ponch and John leered at the ladies before telling the photographer to break it up.

 

[nachomama]

I have an inground pool. It was at the house when I moved in, but it was only partially fenced in. My insurance company required me to fence it in completely. They also strongly encouraged me to put "No Tresspassing" signs on my fence. :shrug: