Filling in a hole and grassing over?!

milliebear00001

lizzyb1812 wrote: »

Have you thought about emptying it of water and filling it with sand for a sand pit? I know it's a bit of an old-fashioned thing but at 3 and 6 I would have thought they would love it and it would be less work/worry for you?

Lizzyb

That is a fab idea! We have one already, but the pond would convert nicely if we could get a lid made. Thanks!

Lotus-eater

milliebear00001 wrote: »

LOL at that link!

My two are 6 and 3, and while a pond could be educational for the older one, the mesh would have to be extremely safe and non-removeable for me to trust my monkey three year old near it! Don'tknow whether I'd be able to sleep at night if it was left in.

It wouldn't be difficult, just make a frame of wood and put some solid mesh over it.
While I do consider kids safety to be sacrosanct, I also think that they should be educated about safety. So what do you do when you let them go out and play by themselves? They have to learn what is safe and what isn't.
Just the same as electrical plugs in the house, we wouldn't think of getting rid of them, although they are much more dangerous than ponds, we teach our kids about them, so they can deal with them on their own.

I like the sand pit idea though

milliebear00001

Lotus-eater wrote: »

It wouldn't be difficult, just make a frame of wood and put some solid mesh over it.
While I do consider kids safety to be sacrosanct, I also think that they should be educated about safety. So what do you do when you let them go out and play by themselves? They have to learn what is safe and what isn't.
Just the same as electrical plugs in the house, we wouldn't think of getting rid of them, although they are much more dangerous than ponds, we teach our kids about them, so they can deal with them on their own.

I like the sand pit idea though

I agree with the notion of managed risk up to a point, and a pond would cause little problem with my six year old who has been taught about water safety and fully understands the associated risks. My three year old (like most three year olds) is much less reliable. While he understands that water can be dangerous and he shouldn't go near it, I know the temptations of a pond may well be too much for him to resist. I don't think it's possible for a three year old to conceptually understand the real risks.

I suspect I'll go with the sandpit for peace of mind, then perhaps when the youngest is trustworthy, convert it back to a pond.