How do I make my garden pond toddler proof?

liz 657

how do I make my garden pond toddler proof?

treehugger80

there's a grid you can buy that fit slightly below the surface, usually its used to protect koi ponds from herons

Singing Gardener

The second of those is the one I'm trying to persuade my daughter to have. I think I'll have to buy and install it for her though as she's done nothing yet even though her 2 year old did actually fall in the pond shortly after they moved in!

Hampshire_Hog

A good steel grid just below the surface and a low fence was what we had at our last house when the children were small.

The only person who ever fell in was me once when leaning over trying to retrieve a football.

Singing Gardener

Don't worry, @1Runnybeak1, I'm on it. She thinks a net or grid is unsightly but if I can't persuade her to install mesh then I'll insist she turn it into a bog garden until the kids are older.

We had a fence across the garden before you got to our ponds when ours were tiny though I must admit I do now have two unguarded ponds (albeit both raised above ground level) so am totally neurotic about keeping kids in sight when they visit. Last time aforementioned grandson visited he deposited a large playmobil boat into the pond. The boat was rescued but I suspect there are a number of playmobil figures still lurking at the bottom.

wild edges

Is it a fish pond or wildlife pond and what is the size? You can add branches and rocks to smaller fishless ponds to make them less accessible. It will leave enough water volume for wildlife if you do it carefully. That or grow a nice ring of nettles and spiky plants around it for a couple of years. Or fencing if you want to be soft on the kids

Singing Gardener

To be fair it is absolutely tiny which is why she's not that bothered. I'll look at the possibilities of making it less accessible. At present it is right next to the lawn and covered in duckweed. My grandson just thought it was a solid surface and walked straight on to it.

K67

A friend's child drowned in their pond it wasn't big or deep so I would get rid until they are older. You cannot bec100% sure you will always have them in sight.

Dovefromabove

We grew up on a farm with ponds and moats and my children grew up in similar spots. 
Fence the children away from the water or place a grid over the top. 
It needn’t be expensive ... for a small pond you can buy a piece of steel mesh used by builders for  reinforcing work. Place it over the pond and fix it into the ground with large metal pegs and dont let  children in the garden unsupervised until they are old enough to be reliable about understanding and following instructions. 
That is what being a parent is about.

A small child can drown in a teacupful of water.

A friends child was found face down in a garden pond and it was only thanks to his aunt who happened to bd there and taught swimming and had good lifesaving and resuscitation skills that he survived and had no brain damage. He spent several days in hospital and his parents were distraught with guilt. 

Hampshire_Hog

I would suggest a smaller mesh size as the holes in reinforcing is 110 mm that a foot or leg would easily fall through so two sheets laid so that the space is reduced to 50 mm might be safer.

And as I and many others have said a fence no need for it to be high just 600 mm maybe 900 mm depending on how big and or inquisitive the children are.

Dovefromabove

Agree a smaller mesh is preferable ... but if needs must .... an arm or leg going through isn’t going to seriously harm a child. As long as the grid is small enough to prevent a face/head going through and high enough above the water surface to prevent a child from laying on it with its mouth/nose submerged.