My wife and I are looking to purchase a larger home and a house on the water is one of our options. We have 3 small children and are a bit concerned for safety. I'm looking for opinions from those who have been through this experience. Thanks.
Living on the water, with small children
- Thread starter imrich
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Rich........Kids on the water is always a safety concern. I've seen waterfront homes use a pool fence....along the bulkhead. They just drill into the wood deck and mount them.....seems to work fine.....along with teaching the kids the danger of the water.
Living on the water is worth every effort...........and kids do grow fast.
Good Luck.......
http://www.protectachild.com/#
Living on the water is worth every effort...........and kids do grow fast.
Good Luck.......
http://www.protectachild.com/#
How old are the children?
Can they all swim well? If not, They must learn to swim immediately and can be taught at 1.5 years old.
With all that you'll need a bullet proof safety program, gates, cameras, alarms.
It's woth the effort but will require a serious effort for safety of children & visitors.
Can they all swim well? If not, They must learn to swim immediately and can be taught at 1.5 years old.
With all that you'll need a bullet proof safety program, gates, cameras, alarms.
It's woth the effort but will require a serious effort for safety of children & visitors.
I live on the water, as obviously do all my neighbors. We moved here when my youngest was 2.5. Her sister was 7 and already swam well. We fenced across the back yard at the dock edge, just a 4 foot picket, with a hard to reach clip on the gate latch. The sides were already fenced with 4' chain link. Never had a hint of an issue. Once the younger one hit about 5 and swam well, the fence came down. None of the neighbors has lost a child. Dogs, oddly enough, are another story. They fall in or jump in to swim and can't climb ladders, and eventually run out of energy. You have to watch it with dogs. I know of at least two nearby that drowned.
Now, every child is different. There are those that try to escape from every prison no matter what. Then you not only have to worry about your backyard, but everyone else's nearby, and the end of the street where there is no fence at all. I recall once watching a neighbor's child from the next street, in January, climbing around a fence from one back yard to another on the opposite side of my canal. So she was hanging over the water, which had a thin layer of ice. Not good, she wouldn't have lasted long in there. We yelled at her to stop and told the parents of course, who were horrified. She was a bit of a wild one. But mine were never like that, at least not past that terrible two thing.
It comes down to the children you have and how close tabs you can keep on them. When they are small and they go outside, you have to stay vigilant. But to keep it in perspective, escapee type children can be hit by cars, or kidnapped by oddballs, when nowhere near the water. So it's maybe not such a huge risk in relative terms. And, they don't stay small forever. Key is, be aware of and manage the risk, and as Capt Art said, push the swimming early.
Now, every child is different. There are those that try to escape from every prison no matter what. Then you not only have to worry about your backyard, but everyone else's nearby, and the end of the street where there is no fence at all. I recall once watching a neighbor's child from the next street, in January, climbing around a fence from one back yard to another on the opposite side of my canal. So she was hanging over the water, which had a thin layer of ice. Not good, she wouldn't have lasted long in there. We yelled at her to stop and told the parents of course, who were horrified. She was a bit of a wild one. But mine were never like that, at least not past that terrible two thing.
It comes down to the children you have and how close tabs you can keep on them. When they are small and they go outside, you have to stay vigilant. But to keep it in perspective, escapee type children can be hit by cars, or kidnapped by oddballs, when nowhere near the water. So it's maybe not such a huge risk in relative terms. And, they don't stay small forever. Key is, be aware of and manage the risk, and as Capt Art said, push the swimming early.
It isn't just your kids you have to protect; you have to protect the neighbors, friends, and even strangers who might get onto your property.
I have a nephew who learned to swim in a pool by the time he was 9 months old!
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we don't live on the water but we've had a pool in the back while all 5 kids were growing up.
Lot of our friends with pools would fence them off etc.
We have out-of-reach slider locks installed on the 3 doors that open to the rear yard.
Other than that we have taught our kids since they could walk certain rules and of course we never let them out of our site and I think that's the key. You have to keep an eye on them 100% of the time. Just like when we're on the boat. LOL.
Lot of our friends with pools would fence them off etc.
We have out-of-reach slider locks installed on the 3 doors that open to the rear yard.
Other than that we have taught our kids since they could walk certain rules and of course we never let them out of our site and I think that's the key. You have to keep an eye on them 100% of the time. Just like when we're on the boat. LOL.
I grew up on the water from the time I was 1. My parents put up a 4' fence inside the boardwalk, kept the gate locked with a padlock and I knew I wasn't supposed to go out there when no one was around. Never was an issue.
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Rich... We moved to our house on the water when my son was five and daughter was two. Like you, we were very nervous. Never thought we'd wind up on the water. Had a fence installed right away, the usual type. Tension gate and all. We had already started swimming lessons for both children. That's a must. And keep them going with the lessons until they pass the full red cross certification. Every year my kids moved to the next level of swimming certification. That was rule number one.
The other two rules we had were the kids always had to wear a life-jacket the second they stepped outside the gate. No exceptions. And, we always had a life ring with a long, long line there attached and ready for use. They got used to it right away and never argued. It was standard operating procedure from day one. Became a habit.
Made sure there was always an adult out there whenever the kids ventured beyond the gate. But that was a delight as our kids grew up learning to love and appreciate the water. Spent hours crabbing up and down our bulkhead, fishing, swimming, kayaking and more.
Looking back, it was the best move we could have ever made. My son will be 16 in August and my daughter is 12, going on 13. They both tell us all the time how much they appreciate the water.
I say, IMHO, go for it! You'll never regret it. Good luck. Don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have. I'd be glad to help.
The other two rules we had were the kids always had to wear a life-jacket the second they stepped outside the gate. No exceptions. And, we always had a life ring with a long, long line there attached and ready for use. They got used to it right away and never argued. It was standard operating procedure from day one. Became a habit.
Made sure there was always an adult out there whenever the kids ventured beyond the gate. But that was a delight as our kids grew up learning to love and appreciate the water. Spent hours crabbing up and down our bulkhead, fishing, swimming, kayaking and more.
Looking back, it was the best move we could have ever made. My son will be 16 in August and my daughter is 12, going on 13. They both tell us all the time how much they appreciate the water.
I say, IMHO, go for it! You'll never regret it. Good luck. Don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have. I'd be glad to help.
i grew up on the water and we never had a fence, neither did our neighbors. the canal was just part of life. my previous house and this one are on the water. its a great way of life. your kids will be like waterrats after one summer on the water. interestingly, when we bought our last house our insurance agent asked if we had a fence along the bulkhead. when i told him no, he said "good..dont put one up... if someone falls in with no fence, well they should have known better. he then went on to say that if we put a fence up, and someone should get over it and drown we would be held more liable because we knew there was a problem, and put the fence in, but not enough fence. anyway..each summer kids on the island drown in pools with fences. i dont know the last time i heard of a kid drowning in a canal. i think your kids will respect the water more.
Rich
We bought our house on the canals of East Rockaway about 12 years ago. My children are 9, 7 and 4 . Of them the older two are strong swimmers, my 4 year old has been taking lessons since he's 2. The ground rules are:
All children are not allowed on the dock unless there is an adult to supervise.
There is a gate between the dock and the backyard which is kept locked at all times. No child is allowed to open the lock. Smaller kids can't reach or apply enough pressure to open the swing lock.
Life jackets must be worn any time they pass through the gate to enter the upper dock platform.
We also have a high 6 foot high fence mounted onto the cap of the bulkhead. Extra poles and crossmembers were added to make fence rigid and not allow a child to roll under it. High wings were put on both sides so you can't climb around the fence.
While a few houses on our canal have no fence the majority do. If you teach your kids to respect the water they will have a truly special place to grow up within and enjoy. My kids look forward to spending their days around the dock crabbing fishing dinking and whatever else they come up with.
With the right attitude and setup a waterfront home can be the ultimate place to raise a family.
Nothing like parking your car in the driveway on Friday and letting it sit till Monday AM because you spent your whole weekend out on the bay in your backyard
)
We bought our house on the canals of East Rockaway about 12 years ago. My children are 9, 7 and 4 . Of them the older two are strong swimmers, my 4 year old has been taking lessons since he's 2. The ground rules are:
All children are not allowed on the dock unless there is an adult to supervise.
There is a gate between the dock and the backyard which is kept locked at all times. No child is allowed to open the lock. Smaller kids can't reach or apply enough pressure to open the swing lock.
Life jackets must be worn any time they pass through the gate to enter the upper dock platform.
We also have a high 6 foot high fence mounted onto the cap of the bulkhead. Extra poles and crossmembers were added to make fence rigid and not allow a child to roll under it. High wings were put on both sides so you can't climb around the fence.
While a few houses on our canal have no fence the majority do. If you teach your kids to respect the water they will have a truly special place to grow up within and enjoy. My kids look forward to spending their days around the dock crabbing fishing dinking and whatever else they come up with.
With the right attitude and setup a waterfront home can be the ultimate place to raise a family.
Nothing like parking your car in the driveway on Friday and letting it sit till Monday AM because you spent your whole weekend out on the bay in your backyard
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Alliecat... well said.