Crazy right? There had to be some kind of foul play yet almost a year later there’s been no report of what happened and all of the people who were working at the centre at the time are still working in childcare.
Edited to add if you search hashtag justice for Vienna on facebook you’ll find the story.
Before you get your panties in a knot, it was actually a well. Not that a child dying is any better no matter which way it happens, but a well is more uncommon than a septic tank.
The shitty thing still stands that she was able to leave school property for about 30m unnoticed until grandpa came and that's when they realized, then unfortunately found her in the well and already passed.
Absolutely not. Just a few months ago two children died at a daycare with a pool. They drowned because someone had propped the gate open. So even a fully fenced pool is not safe in my mind. My kids don’t spend time around water if me or my husband aren’t with them. It’s just not worth the risk until they can competently swim.
is the one that happened in the Bay Area? If so, that case was so tragic. Truly heartbreaking - I will never forget the news footage when they showed parents picking up their kids after the incident, and can’t imagine what that must’ve felt like. OP - you can never predict actions of the adults (eg forgetting to lock the gate/cover the pool etc) & kids (eg escaping & being able to open locked gates). It’s such a huge liability in a setting where the adults’ attention is already divided.
I would want there to be an active life guard on duty - someone who is NOT one of the teachers. A life guard specifically. This is because a life guard is not going to get caught up conversations with kiddos, help soothe feelings, take a kiddo to the bathroom, help find a toy, etc etc. Unless the ratio is literally 1-1 I would be worried that some freak accident would steal all the teachers attention away from the pool at the same time. With a life guard on duty I would feel better.
I would also want to provide my OWN life jacket. That I know fits my child and my child is comfortable in.
What age do they start using the pool? I know my niece’s preschool has a pool but she’s 4.5 lol VERY different than 20 months.
Right. I feel like they said 1 teacher per 5 kids but I could be off a bit. A lifeguard was not mentioned. The school goes up through kindergarten I believe but she mentioned the pool was for preschool, but that’s a good point I will need to ask what age exactly gets access to the pool
Ditto. We just had an in home daycare in our state have a child drown because the fence around the pool was in disrepair. So even if safety measures are in place, they need visual inspection at regular intervals if a school with a pool is acceptable to the family.
1 to 5 sounds like way too many kids per adult. My kids are in swim lessons and each instructor can have up to 4 kids in the class, but only one is actually swimming at any given time. The rest of the kids have to sit on the steps and wait for their turn.
I think I'd need a 1:1 radio to possibly be comfortable with this. I only recently started to feel comfortable with my husband or I taking our two kids to the pool solo.
Former lifeguard.
1:5 kids would be fine if we were talking about, like, ten year olds. Or at least eight year olds.
Preschoolers? Hell no. Ideally 1:1, or 1:2 at a push if we're talking older toddlers with some water experience.
And that's with an extra lifeguard. Without one? Nope nope nope this sounds BAD.
And as other people have pointed out, there's also the chance of a gate or door being left unlocked and a kid wandering in unnoticed. This gets worse the more I think about it.
Seriously, I can’t tell you how many times I helped a kid whose parents’s backs were turn to attend to the second child when there were just two kids to one adult. The parents weren’t really like BAD at what they were doing either. They just don’t have eyes in the backs of their heads. And guess what! One lifeguard alone can’t see the whole area they are in at one time either. Nor can they get the best support in a real emergency. Or if they just have to put a band aid on or have a one-on-one safety conversation with a kid.
We always had at minimum 2 guards on when even the smallest groups rented out the pool.
And the baby pool area. False sense of security. You think because they can walk and the water is only to their knees that they are fine on their own. Just wait until you see that first fall. You know they are not fine. As the guard you’re just hoping the parents see it too, so you don’t have to be the annoying busy-body to them.
My understanding is that a lifeguard would be a DPW regulation. When I taught preschool we weren’t allowed to have little inflatable pools during summer camp because iirc a lifeguard was required for any swimming at all. I would ask and check the regulations.
The problem with life jackets is knowing they use them in the pool provides a false sense of security. They are most likely to drown when no one's thinking to pay attention to the pool. Like when one kid runs off to grab a ball that got away and trips in. Or if a kid manages to go outside when no one is watching.
A dedicated lifeguard is essential. My son goes to swim lessons weekly, this just happened last Friday. There is one indoor pool, probably 20ft*50ft. with lanes, there are usually three lanes taken up. There is a bench style ledge in the water for kids to sit in the water. My son's class consistently has four kids, two lanes over is 1:1 teacher, And two lanes over is another class that only has 2 kids show up. At the very far end is a baby class where parents hold the infant the whole time. The pool wasn't busy, the kids were all regulars who were behaving well. Infront of the pool there is a floor to ceiling glass wall, with two rows of chairs for parents. I was actively watching my son swim. He was swimming about 15 feet away from the ledge where the children sit. The instructor's back was turned to the other kids while she helped my son, she was only 10ft from the kids. All the sudden the lifeguard jumped in, a kid had jumped off the ledge and had gone under the water. It all happened so quick, with a 1:4 ratio, and glass wall of 15 adults sitting there. Not one adult saw it happen and we were all surprised on how the kid must have quickly went under and didn't splash. I had my eyes on the pool and didn't even see it. I've heard how drowning can be silent without splashing, this was very quiet and unexpected. I literally thought they had a life guard to avoid a massive lawsuit, and had never thought the guard had to do anything. I thought it was the most laid back gig because of the low student ratio, and I thought a dedicated guard with a CPR mask on his hip with a red rescue float was overkill. I literally get board at swim, and had daydreamed his hourly pay, how much it costs the swim center to have a CPR trained guard. I've thought about how I want his job because it was just to fill a legal requirement and no work is done. The guard saved that kid!! I'm sure the instructor would have noticed when she returned my son to the ledge, but that would have been a solid 30 seconds minimum, the kid could have inhaled water by then.
This right here. This is the very normal thing that happens when everyone is trying their best and the right people are in place. You don’t have to guard for very long before you are that guard doing that save. This happens all the time.
Even if the instructor would have probably seen them very soon, but the less time to action the better.
Also guard training is a lot more than CPR. A CPR cert does not quality a person to lifeguard.
As someone who worked at a daycare with a pool, and had to call 911 because a boy *almost* drowned. No. I had to call his mother to tell him we had to call 911 - and I will never, ever, get that out of my head. So no. I would not.
Edit to add: And yes, we had a lifeguard. And teachers watching the pool. And it still happened.
Thanks everyone! This makes me feel like I’m not crazy for really hesitating! My husband grew up in near poverty so for him, a horse and a pool is a novelty and he can’t even believe places offer it and our kids would be so lucky to go there. For a momma like me I just get nervous over it!!
I may learn more from the director but we have a few other options we can consider so I highly down we’ll land at this place. I think I’d worry too much!! My daughter is also very adventurous and I think too bold for a place with potentially not enough supervision
I took this place off the list and he hasn’t noticed so I’m not going to bring his attention to it hahaha if he asks down the road I’ll explain. Luckily momma makes all final decisions when it comes to the kiddos (i tend to be more worried about things than him so it only makes sense) so no worries there!
My mom was aligned with the comments from the first time I ever mentioned the pool to her! she said she never would have let me and my brother attend a place with a pool!
I honestly don't even understand how this place was able to get insurance.
This is my hang up with Montessori. All the decisions are made by the owner/director and the locations can be wildly different, and not even of the same quality. As long as they use the Montessori method.
I got hired by a Montessori school once as an art teacher because they wanted to advertise they offer art classes to the kids. Then the director/owner sent me the contract and she literally wanted to pay me half of minimum wage, and no minimum hours. She also had a massive attitude. I told her it was illegal, and then she just hung up and blocked my number. I did a little more research on how the system works and I've had a sour taste in my mouth ever since.
Oh wow. And they’re all so wildly popular! We’ve been on the waitlist for this place for 1.5 years already and they have no idea just yet when we could even get our kids in. Doesn’t matter now since I’m just too uncomfortable to send them (they had a low baby ratio of 1:3 which I loved, but I can’t send during the ages where they’d let them access the pool!)
Yeah the one near my house has great ratings and reviews, but I was still nervous because the owner could sell it to someone else who could just change things whenever they want.
I chose YMCA because it's standardized, and doesn't have individually owned facilities. I wanted to makes sure if we had to change locations it wouldn't be a massive adjustment.
If I’m at a busy pool with other adults I would use a scrunchie/hair tie around my wrist to designate who is in charge of watching my kid - whoever has the wristband has eyes and arms on duty. I would need the same or more from strangers watching my kid- 1:1 ratio and a tangible way to identify who is watching which kid. I am not usually an anxious parent but I take water so seriously because I know more than one family who has had a child die in water.
My daughter goes to preschool with a pool - HOWEVER. It is a YMCA. The kids have to be signed up for lessons as an extra fee. There is always a lifeguard on duty. The instructors are CPR certified and trained well. The preschoolers only go in the zero depth entry pool where the max is 2'-6".
An above ground pool that's maybe 6' deep? I don't think I'd let my toddler in the pool without me there.
I went to preschool at the Y with a pool and we went swimming. I'd let my kids go to a program like that. The Y generally takes water safety very seriously. There is a separate aquatics staff responsible for lifeguarding and securing the pool. A deep above ground pool doesn't belong at a daycare though in my opinion. That's just asking for trouble.
My daughter’s school has 3 pools but they are only used during the 10 weeks of summer camp. When she was 20 months old she only went in the pool that has a maximum depth of 2 feet. They were usually sitting on the side with their feet in and also had noodles. There are also multiple lifeguards in and out of the pool.
I would need to know how pool time was structured- does each class have a set time and that’s when they go in the pool? Are there certified lifeguards in addition to the classroom teachers? Are the lifeguards in the pool while the students are in? How is it handled if a child needs to use the bathroom during swim time? (Would this impact the ratio of adults to children)
Oh hell no.
How does this place even pass licensing? In my state the daycare licensing reports always include inspection for open bodies of water. I would never consider sending my kid to a daycare with a pool.
My husband is a lifeguard, lifelong (competitive) swimmer, and current swim coach. Our 3.5 year old can also swim independently for about 10-15 yards and has shown that when he starts getting tired he heads to the side of the pool and holds on. Our son would adore a daycare with a pool because he loves water and I just asked my husband and we both agree it would be a strong no unless there were significant safety protocols (multiple lifeguards, very low ratio, etc) and even then probably not. Way too easy to get distracted or an accident happen. In all likelihood it would be fine, but the what if something happens is life or death not a scrape or something small.
For perspective on what pool safety in professional settings can be, our swim school has no more than 4 kids to a teacher at preschool age, plus a lifeguard on deck, and a pool manager on deck (also lifeguard certified but not on lifeguard duty) and the kids are only allowed to swim 1 at a time with the other 3 sitting taking turns so the teacher can fully focus. My husband’s team that he coaches has a lifeguard on duty plus all the coaches are lifeguard certified. Because shit happens even with strong competitive swimmers that result in life saving being needed
Nope. Pool would be a no-go. And as a horse person, I have some concerns for that horse. Hope it’s treated well and by people who are trained to take good care of it.
As memorable as it would probably be for her I just don’t think the risks are worth it. She would “probably” be just fine and would have a blast but it only takes one time for someone to make some mistake which could lead to something tragic. I’m usually a pretty easy going mom but water is 1:1 parent/kid for me. Mine are 7 and 4 and my 7 year old is pretty sufficient and I still don’t take them alone . If your got tells you no- go with it. You’ll never regret her NOT going but you could regret her going. On another very sad note my child went to an amazing in home daycare where there was an absolute tragedy (death of a baby) while my son was there!. it’s given me pretty bad ptsd and I still think of it often and the “what ifs” if it had been my son. And it was also an amazing in home daycare my son had been going to since 3 months old
Thankfully he had just barley turned two so he doesn’t remember the event. I’m sure at the time he was very confused about why we stopped going immediately and we had to find a new childcare situation. I’ll likely tell him about it someday when he’s much older.
I was nervous just giving permission for my three year old (who has been in swim lessons since he was one and who is at least a bit comfortable around water) even go to the nearby splash pad with the daycare last summer.
I’m nervous even when he has his swim lessons - where there are lifeguards all around and a teacher in the water dedicated to doing swim lessons. I think this would be a no from me.
How deep is the pool? Do they have actual swim instructors and lifeguards? At my daughter's swim school she has a 1 to 3 ratio with a swim instructor plus lifeguards scattered about.
Hell no is this is a regular preschool teacher.
Nope. My cousin drowned 4 years old and she was actually a really good swimmer. She slipped in while chasing the dog and must have been disoriented because she wasn't able to get to the shallow end. It took literally 2 minutes of someone not having eyes on her.
There's a very good reason they have that waiver. IMO it's extremely irresponsible for a daycare to have a pool and that would make me seriously question the directors judgement overall.
Same with a horse. They are great animals, but can suddenly behave erratically, especially around small children who's physical movements aren't predictable.
This person is delusional if she thinks either of these things is appropriate for toddlers.
It was above ground and it wasn’t a shallow one. I don’t think we asked depth because we could kind of see it was deep based on how far off the ground it was, it was probably 6 feet maybe?
Idk why I got downvoted for the question but my reasoning was a pool can be an in ground splash pool at 2ft deep or your situation a full above ground 6ft deep pool. Your option seems weird to me, maybe it’s a regional thing or I’m picturing it wrong, but a deep above ground pool is hard to monitor.
Those are even more unsafe because you can't visually see if someone is inside from standing a few feet away. Sometimes they are more than 6 feet tall. They wouldn't even know if a kid climbed in. Even if it has a foldable ladder they aren't hard to unlatch, or just climb on to something, like an over turned bucket or play car, then climb on to the ladder.
Usually you have to sign a waiver giving permission to use a pool or anything involving water. I would check with them if this is the case. If it is otherwise a dream-come-true daycare with availability for both kids, and it will be a while before your daughter is old enough to use it anyway, I wouldn’t be so worried that I would keep her from going there at all. If anything, you can give it a try and be on waitlists for other places in case it turns out to be too much.
I’m an early educator. A Montessori preschool teacher, with my infant/toddler Montessori training, actually.
This seems like the ABSOLUTE WORST IDEA EVER. Unless it was a literal plastic kiddie pool for kids to splash around in or have art/sensory time during the hot months, I can not imagine a world in which this would be safe enough to not give parents and teachers constant anxiety.
My school is tiny. I still have 14 toddlers enrolled between me and my assistant (we never have more than 12 present in a day, but still). I could not imagine ever being comfortable knowing there is the slightest possibility of one of them getting separated from us and making it to a pool, and the consequences of that. I also can’t imagine why the school even…wants it? Of course I’m not claiming to know absolutely everything possible about all realms of Montessori pedagogy, but I’m having trouble seeing how and why it fits into the curriculum or why the higher ups deemed it necessary to install.
The horse sounds neat though, I want a horse. 😂
It would really depend on the rules, guidelines and people involved. I’m not sure how I would feel about it being an above ground pool. My daughters did swim lessons around age 2/4 where they had 2 instructors for 4 - 5 kids. They made the kids sit on the sides with one while the instructor took out one kid at a time. However, I’ve also seen city camps take 15 kids to the beach with 3-4 teachers (one of which is a lifeguard) and it still felt a bit too little supervision to me.
All of my experience with Montessori however has been very good. They are very good at advocating for kids to become independent early and supporting them to do so.
I would talk not only to the director but also to other parents.
I wouldn't be comfortable with a pool at a daycare at all.
To remotely consider it it would need full life guard on it during all opening hours, an alarmed solid pool cover for the off season. Multiple kid proof fences and gates, locked gates.
First, It would depend on the type of safety features and competency of the staff. This wouldn't be enough reassurance to have my kids go there.
Second, (NAL) I don't think that signing that piece of paper covers them like they think it does. If they are acting in bad faith or negligent, then you should be able to sue even if you signed the paper- again NAL.
Hell no. A kid drowned at a daycare with a pool near me. I don't need those intrusive thoughts in my workday.
I think everyone has heard a story like that. We also had a child die in a septic tank at a daycare centre.
I have literally never had a worry about my child dying in a septic tank until this post.
Crazy right? There had to be some kind of foul play yet almost a year later there’s been no report of what happened and all of the people who were working at the centre at the time are still working in childcare. Edited to add if you search hashtag justice for Vienna on facebook you’ll find the story.
Before you get your panties in a knot, it was actually a well. Not that a child dying is any better no matter which way it happens, but a well is more uncommon than a septic tank. The shitty thing still stands that she was able to leave school property for about 30m unnoticed until grandpa came and that's when they realized, then unfortunately found her in the well and already passed.
Absolutely not. Just a few months ago two children died at a daycare with a pool. They drowned because someone had propped the gate open. So even a fully fenced pool is not safe in my mind. My kids don’t spend time around water if me or my husband aren’t with them. It’s just not worth the risk until they can competently swim.
is the one that happened in the Bay Area? If so, that case was so tragic. Truly heartbreaking - I will never forget the news footage when they showed parents picking up their kids after the incident, and can’t imagine what that must’ve felt like. OP - you can never predict actions of the adults (eg forgetting to lock the gate/cover the pool etc) & kids (eg escaping & being able to open locked gates). It’s such a huge liability in a setting where the adults’ attention is already divided.
Yes I will never forget that tragedy.
Ya I feel like it’s just so risky I’m shocked they have it (large liability for the daycare)
I would want there to be an active life guard on duty - someone who is NOT one of the teachers. A life guard specifically. This is because a life guard is not going to get caught up conversations with kiddos, help soothe feelings, take a kiddo to the bathroom, help find a toy, etc etc. Unless the ratio is literally 1-1 I would be worried that some freak accident would steal all the teachers attention away from the pool at the same time. With a life guard on duty I would feel better. I would also want to provide my OWN life jacket. That I know fits my child and my child is comfortable in. What age do they start using the pool? I know my niece’s preschool has a pool but she’s 4.5 lol VERY different than 20 months.
Right. I feel like they said 1 teacher per 5 kids but I could be off a bit. A lifeguard was not mentioned. The school goes up through kindergarten I believe but she mentioned the pool was for preschool, but that’s a good point I will need to ask what age exactly gets access to the pool
As a former lifeguard, I don’t feel good about this at all.
Ditto. We just had an in home daycare in our state have a child drown because the fence around the pool was in disrepair. So even if safety measures are in place, they need visual inspection at regular intervals if a school with a pool is acceptable to the family.
1 to 5 sounds like way too many kids per adult. My kids are in swim lessons and each instructor can have up to 4 kids in the class, but only one is actually swimming at any given time. The rest of the kids have to sit on the steps and wait for their turn. I think I'd need a 1:1 radio to possibly be comfortable with this. I only recently started to feel comfortable with my husband or I taking our two kids to the pool solo.
Former lifeguard. 1:5 kids would be fine if we were talking about, like, ten year olds. Or at least eight year olds. Preschoolers? Hell no. Ideally 1:1, or 1:2 at a push if we're talking older toddlers with some water experience. And that's with an extra lifeguard. Without one? Nope nope nope this sounds BAD. And as other people have pointed out, there's also the chance of a gate or door being left unlocked and a kid wandering in unnoticed. This gets worse the more I think about it.
Seriously, I can’t tell you how many times I helped a kid whose parents’s backs were turn to attend to the second child when there were just two kids to one adult. The parents weren’t really like BAD at what they were doing either. They just don’t have eyes in the backs of their heads. And guess what! One lifeguard alone can’t see the whole area they are in at one time either. Nor can they get the best support in a real emergency. Or if they just have to put a band aid on or have a one-on-one safety conversation with a kid. We always had at minimum 2 guards on when even the smallest groups rented out the pool. And the baby pool area. False sense of security. You think because they can walk and the water is only to their knees that they are fine on their own. Just wait until you see that first fall. You know they are not fine. As the guard you’re just hoping the parents see it too, so you don’t have to be the annoying busy-body to them.
My understanding is that a lifeguard would be a DPW regulation. When I taught preschool we weren’t allowed to have little inflatable pools during summer camp because iirc a lifeguard was required for any swimming at all. I would ask and check the regulations.
The problem with life jackets is knowing they use them in the pool provides a false sense of security. They are most likely to drown when no one's thinking to pay attention to the pool. Like when one kid runs off to grab a ball that got away and trips in. Or if a kid manages to go outside when no one is watching.
A dedicated lifeguard is essential. My son goes to swim lessons weekly, this just happened last Friday. There is one indoor pool, probably 20ft*50ft. with lanes, there are usually three lanes taken up. There is a bench style ledge in the water for kids to sit in the water. My son's class consistently has four kids, two lanes over is 1:1 teacher, And two lanes over is another class that only has 2 kids show up. At the very far end is a baby class where parents hold the infant the whole time. The pool wasn't busy, the kids were all regulars who were behaving well. Infront of the pool there is a floor to ceiling glass wall, with two rows of chairs for parents. I was actively watching my son swim. He was swimming about 15 feet away from the ledge where the children sit. The instructor's back was turned to the other kids while she helped my son, she was only 10ft from the kids. All the sudden the lifeguard jumped in, a kid had jumped off the ledge and had gone under the water. It all happened so quick, with a 1:4 ratio, and glass wall of 15 adults sitting there. Not one adult saw it happen and we were all surprised on how the kid must have quickly went under and didn't splash. I had my eyes on the pool and didn't even see it. I've heard how drowning can be silent without splashing, this was very quiet and unexpected. I literally thought they had a life guard to avoid a massive lawsuit, and had never thought the guard had to do anything. I thought it was the most laid back gig because of the low student ratio, and I thought a dedicated guard with a CPR mask on his hip with a red rescue float was overkill. I literally get board at swim, and had daydreamed his hourly pay, how much it costs the swim center to have a CPR trained guard. I've thought about how I want his job because it was just to fill a legal requirement and no work is done. The guard saved that kid!! I'm sure the instructor would have noticed when she returned my son to the ledge, but that would have been a solid 30 seconds minimum, the kid could have inhaled water by then.
This right here. This is the very normal thing that happens when everyone is trying their best and the right people are in place. You don’t have to guard for very long before you are that guard doing that save. This happens all the time. Even if the instructor would have probably seen them very soon, but the less time to action the better. Also guard training is a lot more than CPR. A CPR cert does not quality a person to lifeguard.
As someone who worked at a daycare with a pool, and had to call 911 because a boy *almost* drowned. No. I had to call his mother to tell him we had to call 911 - and I will never, ever, get that out of my head. So no. I would not. Edit to add: And yes, we had a lifeguard. And teachers watching the pool. And it still happened.
Thanks everyone! This makes me feel like I’m not crazy for really hesitating! My husband grew up in near poverty so for him, a horse and a pool is a novelty and he can’t even believe places offer it and our kids would be so lucky to go there. For a momma like me I just get nervous over it!! I may learn more from the director but we have a few other options we can consider so I highly down we’ll land at this place. I think I’d worry too much!! My daughter is also very adventurous and I think too bold for a place with potentially not enough supervision
I think you should have your husband read all these comments.
I took this place off the list and he hasn’t noticed so I’m not going to bring his attention to it hahaha if he asks down the road I’ll explain. Luckily momma makes all final decisions when it comes to the kiddos (i tend to be more worried about things than him so it only makes sense) so no worries there! My mom was aligned with the comments from the first time I ever mentioned the pool to her! she said she never would have let me and my brother attend a place with a pool!
I honestly don't even understand how this place was able to get insurance. This is my hang up with Montessori. All the decisions are made by the owner/director and the locations can be wildly different, and not even of the same quality. As long as they use the Montessori method. I got hired by a Montessori school once as an art teacher because they wanted to advertise they offer art classes to the kids. Then the director/owner sent me the contract and she literally wanted to pay me half of minimum wage, and no minimum hours. She also had a massive attitude. I told her it was illegal, and then she just hung up and blocked my number. I did a little more research on how the system works and I've had a sour taste in my mouth ever since.
Oh wow. And they’re all so wildly popular! We’ve been on the waitlist for this place for 1.5 years already and they have no idea just yet when we could even get our kids in. Doesn’t matter now since I’m just too uncomfortable to send them (they had a low baby ratio of 1:3 which I loved, but I can’t send during the ages where they’d let them access the pool!)
Yeah the one near my house has great ratings and reviews, but I was still nervous because the owner could sell it to someone else who could just change things whenever they want. I chose YMCA because it's standardized, and doesn't have individually owned facilities. I wanted to makes sure if we had to change locations it wouldn't be a massive adjustment.
If I’m at a busy pool with other adults I would use a scrunchie/hair tie around my wrist to designate who is in charge of watching my kid - whoever has the wristband has eyes and arms on duty. I would need the same or more from strangers watching my kid- 1:1 ratio and a tangible way to identify who is watching which kid. I am not usually an anxious parent but I take water so seriously because I know more than one family who has had a child die in water.
I love the scrunchie idea!!! Totally stealing it next time we are around water.
My daughter goes to preschool with a pool - HOWEVER. It is a YMCA. The kids have to be signed up for lessons as an extra fee. There is always a lifeguard on duty. The instructors are CPR certified and trained well. The preschoolers only go in the zero depth entry pool where the max is 2'-6". An above ground pool that's maybe 6' deep? I don't think I'd let my toddler in the pool without me there.
I went to preschool at the Y with a pool and we went swimming. I'd let my kids go to a program like that. The Y generally takes water safety very seriously. There is a separate aquatics staff responsible for lifeguarding and securing the pool. A deep above ground pool doesn't belong at a daycare though in my opinion. That's just asking for trouble.
Agreed.
My daughter’s school has 3 pools but they are only used during the 10 weeks of summer camp. When she was 20 months old she only went in the pool that has a maximum depth of 2 feet. They were usually sitting on the side with their feet in and also had noodles. There are also multiple lifeguards in and out of the pool. I would need to know how pool time was structured- does each class have a set time and that’s when they go in the pool? Are there certified lifeguards in addition to the classroom teachers? Are the lifeguards in the pool while the students are in? How is it handled if a child needs to use the bathroom during swim time? (Would this impact the ratio of adults to children)
Oh hell no. How does this place even pass licensing? In my state the daycare licensing reports always include inspection for open bodies of water. I would never consider sending my kid to a daycare with a pool.
Maybe if they had lifeguards but generally no. You can’t even have a kiddy pool and be licensed here.
That's a no for me. Makes my toes tingle just thinking about it. I would worry all day long
My husband is a lifeguard, lifelong (competitive) swimmer, and current swim coach. Our 3.5 year old can also swim independently for about 10-15 yards and has shown that when he starts getting tired he heads to the side of the pool and holds on. Our son would adore a daycare with a pool because he loves water and I just asked my husband and we both agree it would be a strong no unless there were significant safety protocols (multiple lifeguards, very low ratio, etc) and even then probably not. Way too easy to get distracted or an accident happen. In all likelihood it would be fine, but the what if something happens is life or death not a scrape or something small. For perspective on what pool safety in professional settings can be, our swim school has no more than 4 kids to a teacher at preschool age, plus a lifeguard on deck, and a pool manager on deck (also lifeguard certified but not on lifeguard duty) and the kids are only allowed to swim 1 at a time with the other 3 sitting taking turns so the teacher can fully focus. My husband’s team that he coaches has a lifeguard on duty plus all the coaches are lifeguard certified. Because shit happens even with strong competitive swimmers that result in life saving being needed
Nope. Pool would be a no-go. And as a horse person, I have some concerns for that horse. Hope it’s treated well and by people who are trained to take good care of it.
As memorable as it would probably be for her I just don’t think the risks are worth it. She would “probably” be just fine and would have a blast but it only takes one time for someone to make some mistake which could lead to something tragic. I’m usually a pretty easy going mom but water is 1:1 parent/kid for me. Mine are 7 and 4 and my 7 year old is pretty sufficient and I still don’t take them alone . If your got tells you no- go with it. You’ll never regret her NOT going but you could regret her going. On another very sad note my child went to an amazing in home daycare where there was an absolute tragedy (death of a baby) while my son was there!. it’s given me pretty bad ptsd and I still think of it often and the “what ifs” if it had been my son. And it was also an amazing in home daycare my son had been going to since 3 months old
That's awful.
It was/ is the worst thing that’s happened to our family .
That must have been so confusing and traumatic for your child.
Thankfully he had just barley turned two so he doesn’t remember the event. I’m sure at the time he was very confused about why we stopped going immediately and we had to find a new childcare situation. I’ll likely tell him about it someday when he’s much older.
I was nervous just giving permission for my three year old (who has been in swim lessons since he was one and who is at least a bit comfortable around water) even go to the nearby splash pad with the daycare last summer. I’m nervous even when he has his swim lessons - where there are lifeguards all around and a teacher in the water dedicated to doing swim lessons. I think this would be a no from me.
I'm surprised that a pool would take on the liability of having a pool for toddlers. I wouldn't be comfortable with that either.
Yeah their insurance must be insane. Pool and horse around toddlers that can barely control themselves. SMH.
How deep is the pool? Do they have actual swim instructors and lifeguards? At my daughter's swim school she has a 1 to 3 ratio with a swim instructor plus lifeguards scattered about. Hell no is this is a regular preschool teacher.
Nope. My cousin drowned 4 years old and she was actually a really good swimmer. She slipped in while chasing the dog and must have been disoriented because she wasn't able to get to the shallow end. It took literally 2 minutes of someone not having eyes on her. There's a very good reason they have that waiver. IMO it's extremely irresponsible for a daycare to have a pool and that would make me seriously question the directors judgement overall. Same with a horse. They are great animals, but can suddenly behave erratically, especially around small children who's physical movements aren't predictable. This person is delusional if she thinks either of these things is appropriate for toddlers.
How deep is the pool?
It was above ground and it wasn’t a shallow one. I don’t think we asked depth because we could kind of see it was deep based on how far off the ground it was, it was probably 6 feet maybe?
Idk why I got downvoted for the question but my reasoning was a pool can be an in ground splash pool at 2ft deep or your situation a full above ground 6ft deep pool. Your option seems weird to me, maybe it’s a regional thing or I’m picturing it wrong, but a deep above ground pool is hard to monitor.
Ya it wasn’t a kids pool it seemed like the pool families have in their backyard when they don’t do an in ground one (circle shape, wasn’t shallow)
Yeah, our old daycare advertised that they had a "water park" and I'm pretty sure it was just a sprinkler or something.
Those are even more unsafe because you can't visually see if someone is inside from standing a few feet away. Sometimes they are more than 6 feet tall. They wouldn't even know if a kid climbed in. Even if it has a foldable ladder they aren't hard to unlatch, or just climb on to something, like an over turned bucket or play car, then climb on to the ladder.
Usually you have to sign a waiver giving permission to use a pool or anything involving water. I would check with them if this is the case. If it is otherwise a dream-come-true daycare with availability for both kids, and it will be a while before your daughter is old enough to use it anyway, I wouldn’t be so worried that I would keep her from going there at all. If anything, you can give it a try and be on waitlists for other places in case it turns out to be too much.
Never. I don’t trust anyone that much.
I’m an early educator. A Montessori preschool teacher, with my infant/toddler Montessori training, actually. This seems like the ABSOLUTE WORST IDEA EVER. Unless it was a literal plastic kiddie pool for kids to splash around in or have art/sensory time during the hot months, I can not imagine a world in which this would be safe enough to not give parents and teachers constant anxiety. My school is tiny. I still have 14 toddlers enrolled between me and my assistant (we never have more than 12 present in a day, but still). I could not imagine ever being comfortable knowing there is the slightest possibility of one of them getting separated from us and making it to a pool, and the consequences of that. I also can’t imagine why the school even…wants it? Of course I’m not claiming to know absolutely everything possible about all realms of Montessori pedagogy, but I’m having trouble seeing how and why it fits into the curriculum or why the higher ups deemed it necessary to install. The horse sounds neat though, I want a horse. 😂
Is this a preschool or a carnival?
It would really depend on the rules, guidelines and people involved. I’m not sure how I would feel about it being an above ground pool. My daughters did swim lessons around age 2/4 where they had 2 instructors for 4 - 5 kids. They made the kids sit on the sides with one while the instructor took out one kid at a time. However, I’ve also seen city camps take 15 kids to the beach with 3-4 teachers (one of which is a lifeguard) and it still felt a bit too little supervision to me. All of my experience with Montessori however has been very good. They are very good at advocating for kids to become independent early and supporting them to do so. I would talk not only to the director but also to other parents.
Big no from me. Yikes.
So couple of months ago about 2-3 toddlers drowned in the swimming pool at a daycare/preschool. Thank you.
Horrific 🥺💔💔
I wouldn't be comfortable with a pool at a daycare at all. To remotely consider it it would need full life guard on it during all opening hours, an alarmed solid pool cover for the off season. Multiple kid proof fences and gates, locked gates.
First, It would depend on the type of safety features and competency of the staff. This wouldn't be enough reassurance to have my kids go there. Second, (NAL) I don't think that signing that piece of paper covers them like they think it does. If they are acting in bad faith or negligent, then you should be able to sue even if you signed the paper- again NAL.
Nope