Sham Williams

Well I have to say we are lucky enough to have a pool and a spa!! BUT you cant beat a pool with young kids, cant understand one earlier poster (sorry forgot who it was) saying they would never have a pool with youngsters?? My two are 4 & 8 and they are in it all day everyday, we to have the heating and a blanket, we have great security fencing which is illegal not to have as I understand it in SA. So the safety aspect is brilliant, all is good, everyone is happy!! Personally I think you get more use from it when the kids are younger, when they are older they want to be off out doing more interesting things than swimming in a pool!!

As for maintenance we were told they are hard work both the pool and the spa but what rubbish, as said before as long as you keep on top of them it is easy peasey!!

We wouldnt be without either BUT if I had to chose personally I would get rid of the spa and keep the pool!! But if you ask the OH he would say the other way round!! So its horses for courses as they say, but I think those that say they dont want one, do really, sometimes it is a cost thing but like many have already said they bought a house with one, and now they wouldnt be without it!!

We are delighted our house came with a pool and I can honestly say it is SOOOO worth it, especially if you have kids and on a day like today when it is 42 degrees outside!!

robclaridge

Spa is absolutely best. We live in sunny Queensland. But found that we only used the pool at our old house for around 9 months of the year....which got less and less as we aclimatised to the weather and found that anything less than 27 degrees was too cold... bbbbrrrrrr... yes it does happen. Spa is fantastic. We use it 365 days of the year. Sat in it at christmas eating oysters and prawns, drinking and watching the Simpsons! Easy to clean. Very cheap to run, no fishing out foreign objects and spending money on chemicals 24/7. Our neighbour has a pool. All I can say is I spend the majority of my time sat in the bubbling spa watching TV eating nibbles whilst he is stood on the side fishing out leaves and bugs... nuff said

Glasgowlass

It was me. A wee boy died just the other day in the family pool aged 2 with pool fence blah blah blah. My girls are 1 & 3 and I'm not interested in a pool....not too difficult to understand IMHO.

PaulandNic

Have rented with and without, and if funds permitted we'd have one.

You might only use for a few months of the year (unless you have solar heating then a few extra) but in your OWN pool at 10pm in the warmer months ... well, it WAS nice! ...

Good for keeping fit too, which makes it more appealing over a Spa to us. Not sure how much exercise you'd get goin round in circles ...

Wendy

And me - but only because I know that my kids (the lads that is) when they were younger would NOT have listened about the dangers of it and WOULD have done anything to get in there when I wasn't looking. Plus I know that I wouldn't have been able to be in there all the time with them, at least now they are older if I say 'stay in the shallow end when I'm not there' they will. Which means I can go to the loo and leave them for a few minutes or whatever.

Everyone's kids are different, and if people want a pool with younger kids and feel that the kids are OK with the 'don't touch it's dangerous' thing then great - mine weren't so I wouldn't have considered it until they were at least 6 or 7 years old.

Amazulu

Have one (it came with the house) - love it. It is a lot of work to keep up to scratch but there you go. Also have had to spend a lot on fencing, saltwater chlorinator, kreepy, blanket, shade-sail etc. It's worth it though and I will always have a pool in the future.

themerlin

There is always the argument that your kids are less likely to get into trouble if they have a pool and learn to swim at an early age.

I think the kids are in more danger from cars in the driveway.

asher

Have'nt got one, we have the beach nearby

Glasgowlass

I don't let them play there either! There's danger everywhere inside and outside the home. Vigilance is paramount whatever they are doing.

Sleeping Beauty

when we bought the house, (the pool was not a necessity when we were looking by the way, it just so happened that this house had one, although like most people had the dream of a pool once we got over here ) we told the kids that there were two very definate rules. (kids are 10 and 5 - nearly 6). not poking around in the bushes was one or go into the bush at the back (very overgrown at ground level, which we are working on), and if they lost something, they were to get one of us. the other one, was a very definate, they dont go into the pool without asking and without one of us there to supervise. the little one cant reach the pool gate anyway. so far so good, they know why and they have stuck to these two rules. they dont like going in without someone to mess around with anyway (usually poor dad). i know and understand that accidents do happen, and water and children are magnets to each other. they can both swim, and the little one has come on in leaps and bounds since we moved in (had just learnt previously). older children i should imagine wouldnt get the same sort of pleasure from a pool. ours are the right age i reckon.

Glasgowlass

When my girls are older I wouldn't rule a pool out. However at 1&3 I'm not comfortable with the idea of having one.

Rosscarbery

We have a pool (we had promised our younger son that we would and as he didn't want to come felt it was important to stick to it) and I would never be without if I had a choice. Our kids are 14, 9 and 4 and spend a lot of time in it. If friends with kids come over it's a bit hit and takes care of a lot of the "entertainment" as well as being good exercise. Luckily my 4 year old is of the "I'm not allowed to so I won't" variety - she couldn't open the gate anyway - and we have a rule that nobody (even the 14 year old) swims without an adult being outside. The younger two aren't allowed in the pool area at all without an adult. It's one of the major pluses of Oz for us.

Gibbo

VIGILANCE by parents is the answer to child safety. I have had a pool for many, many years. The eldest of my 4 sons was 9 when we got it. They knew the rules and in 30 odd years, numerous children, parties etc. we have never had one trauma. The pool is not fenced. When these rules came in we only had to key lock doors and windows that led to the backyard. It depends on your familly ofcourse, but mine always used the pool right up to they left home and even now the first thing they do when they visit, in warm weather, is go straight into the pool. Best money I ever spent.

ohippy

we're in the process of building a pool (and have been since June!) but can't get anyone to quartzon/quartzite it. That's all that is left to do - does anyone know anyone ? Hubby has even contacted places over East offering a free weeks labour for someone to show him how to do it.

We live near the beach too, but there's no way my kids would be allowed in the sea without me, the pool I can keep an eye on whilst cleaning/cooking etc ! The sea they body board and snorkel in, the pool, if it's ever finished, they'll swim and play around in. It also has a built in spa.

Sham Williams

I guess like you say it depends on the kids!! Mine cant get into the pool area without me or another adult opening the VERY stiff gate!! Even I struggle at times, so I know it is dead safe, but at 4 & 8 we have many time spoken about the safety of the pool, and now they both enjoying lessons to and are both good confident swimmers!!

The only danger they come across when swimming is if they have a row while playing and one tries to drown the other!! Obviously this sort of game isnt encouraged!!