Family Friendly Pool Design

Maybe a waterslide that extends from their bedroom windows to the pool? (The unrealized dreams of someone who grew up without a backyard pool....)

Zero entry has been very popular lately.

Also, a family I know bought a house with a huge pool and remodeled it to be 3 separate pools. To me, it seem like a very expensive project, but they had a vision (and the money to pay for it). It was beautiful and i think smaller sizes help with the heating (allowing a warm pool and a hot tub).

There was a fun show on HGTV that had pool make overs. I wonder if it is still on or if you can find it on netflix.

Our neighbors have children that were 4 and 7 when they put their inground pool in. They have a cover that always goes over it when not I use. The kids can play on the cover and it holds adults up to 300lbs or something. Feels like you are walking on a waterbed. The edges of the cover seem pretty secure in that it would be difficult for a child to try to sneak under it.

This same neighbor also researched swim lessons for her kids before they got the pool. She specifically looked for lessons that started with safety such as: never running around water, how to figure out the shortest poolside to swim to if you get tired, etc. These were taught and tested before the more traditional lesson such as breathing, kicks, etc.

Another of my friends would hire 1-2 certified lifeguards whenever they hosted a party with kids.

Safety cannot be stressed enough when you have a pool.
Enjoy yours!

You live right down the road from me!

I take it you don't want to keep your yard for playing in? The pool will be used for about 2 months out of the year - if you're lucky. Have you thought about that?

One of our neighbors used Sylvan Pools. They design pools and landscaping to fit the yard.
http://www.anthonysylvan.com/browse-pools-spas/pool-designs/

and will help you with Fairfax County codes and help you get the required permits.
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/pool.pdf
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/navbar/faqs/res_pools.htm

Personally? If it were me? I would go to the public pools. Unless you're going to install a heated pool so you can get more than 8 weeks of use. Our neighbor used their pool about 5 times this summer. They went to A LOT of expense to build it and fence it to use it 5 times. I'd think more about it if I were you.

have you not spoken with a pool company about this? You have less than a half acre and you want a pool and still a place for the kids to play? Your best bet is to consult with a pool design company.

If you live in an HOA, have you asked them if you can put a pool in?

In California, we had a pool that had an electronic pool cover and the state the code required a fence to be around the pool as they are considered an attractive nuisance for insurance.

Hi S.,
My in-laws live in Great Falls and we live in Florida. I'm assuming you have room for a pool and backyard for playing in (soccer, basketball, kickball, etc.). If not, I wouldn't advise having a pool where you live - you will have more fun at a community pool or swim club.

Assuming you have room for both, then I would suggest a pool that is long enough to do some lap swimming, has a good size first step so that toddlers can play on a step, and has easy access for older people (a nice hand rail). You don't need a slide or a diving board! Slides are very dangerous and kids are more than capable of diving off the side when they are older. If they become super interested in competitive diving, you will join a team for that. You might like a Jacuzzi section - that can be heated. I agree with the person who suggested heating the pool. Frankly, I wouldn't have a pool in your area without heat as you don't have that many weeks with the pool at a temperature that I would be comfortable in. Make sure you look at the standards used for both lighting and pool drains. Both have been big problems down here.

In my area, it is required to have a baby pool fence that completely encloses your pool and locks. I love ours, the pool is "open" and then it is "closed. When I bought this house, I had a 2 year old and a 6 year old. Now those boys are 6 and 10 but even the 10 year olds friends understand that when I tell them I am closing the pool, I am serious. It helps for parties and just ending playdates.

Can't tell you anything about a cover or winterizing - we don't do that. LMK if you have any other specific questions. Good luck!

Ours is equal depth on both ends. Is conducive for fair game play when they are older.

Water can be great fun but it's an attractive nuisance too.
Best safety 'feature' there is is a watchful sober adult.
Also be prepared to lock/gate off the pool so wandering toddlers can't get into it without an adult present - AND - put an alarm in it so you know if/when anyone falls into it day or night.

We had some news in the spring about an above ground pool that a neighbor toddler got into through a hole in the fence, climbed up and into it and the kid drowned - in less than 10 min from when the kid was last seen by their grandparent who was baby sitting.
Although the pool was enjoyed for several years the owner was so distraught he dismantled his pool he was so upset a child died in it.

We had some friends years ago who had a fenced off back yard with an in-ground pool in it.
Their rule was - until they were like11 yrs old - if you play in the back yard - you wear a life vest no matter what, no matter what season - friends and neighbor kids too.
It saved their kids on more than one occasion.

Water slide

I have a different opinion than some about the zero entry/shallow end. Kids can drown in a small amount of water, so having a very shallow/zero entry end doesn't make your pool safer. It might actually make it less safe, because it gives the impression that people (kids and the adults watching them) can be less vigilant, because of the shallow depth. An adult should always be an arm-length or less away from a child who can't swim, regardless of pool depth, so you may as well make it deep enough to swim in at both ends - at least 3 feet. I would go with a depth that is good for playing games (eg, pool volleyball/basketball) plus an area deep enough to accommodate a small water slide. And of course every pool needs a fence that kids can't climb and a lock with the key kept in a secure place.

We had an in-ground pool when we lived in PA and we wouldn't be without one here in FL.

I would recommend a loop-loc cover for the winter months, it locks into place and anyone can walk over it without falling in.
https://www.looploc.com/

We also had fence around our pool in PA with a locking gate, you don't want your kids, neighbors kids, etc. falling in and getting hurt.

We used our pool in PA from May until September, we had a propane heater installed which helped get more use out of it. Its not that hard to take care of a pool and you can learn to winterize it yourself if you choose to. We would do the weekly maintenance and hire a company to open and close ours, it wasn't that expensive.

You will pay more for homeowners insurance. I would also suggest getting your kids swim lessons. Or float lessons : https://www.infantswim.com/lessons/isr-lessons.html

I forgot to add that salt water pools are easier to maintain and don't use as many chemicals (lower costs). They are not as salty as the ocean, but you can tell the difference between a chlorine pool and a salt water pool.

My sister just moved from a house with a gorgeous in-ground pool in SC. They used it a lot before kids, and once they had kids they used it mostly when we visited them. It's a lot of work and very expensive. Our next door neighbors have one and they used it a lot - when they were in town. But that equaled maybe 5-10 times total throughout the year. They just sold the house and the new family used it 3 times this summer...and one was a party.

My husband and I keep going back and forth about getting one in the future, our kids are little fish...but still for the cost, we aren't sure it makes sense. We are in MD, and typically people here open their pools in May to start warming them and close them late September. But totally up to you on that! Heated will make it last longer in the spring and fall.

I would say definitely have a lot of space no deeper than 3 feet. That's where a lot of people like to play games. Diving boards/slides are fun, but I'm not sure about the maintenance.

The pool company should be able to design one for you that fits your needs...and I'm sure they have worked with others who have young kids.

Maybe a zero entry or a large sunshelf. Either would act as a shallow play area for toddlers and a great place to tan for teens. Jacuzzi with a spill over would be nice for both ages, too.

In all honesty I think I would do a splash pad sort of thing that could be upgraded as they grew and do regular pool a bit later on. A wading depth pool could be a great thing for now too. Perhaps it could be used as the opening to a deeper pool later on.

I think you should consider a pool that has a lot of lower depth area with a minimal deep part.

For instance, when they're smaller you can have everyone in the more shallow end and have them in floaters where they are safe. Then as they gain water skills you can move to floaties on their arms and eventually to basic swimming.

Even with a 5-6 foot area they can have a slide to go down. They won't use a slide much after they get to be in middle school though. Bigger kids just don't "play" like that anymore.

You can play games like volleyball, dive and get the thing, and so many more things all through elementary school and middle school. IF they join a swim team or anything they will have a huge pool for diving, that's not a home thing they should be doing obviously.

My dream pool would be a large rectangle with 3/4 of it being 5' or less. I really don't even need a diving/deep area. I'd have a net that attached and went across the middle area.

It would be best for swimming laps and if someone got tired they could simply stand up. If they wanted to float around and relax there is plenty of flat watertop to do that too.

Simple and easy to clean the walls and bottom.

I like this one. Open for lots of people to play or do other stuff out of the players way.

http://www.poolsideinfo.com/outdoorSwimmingPool/poolVolle...

There are a wide variety of pool designs on this page with volleyball nets in place but there are other options too.

https://www.coolpoolproducts.com/pages/gallery.html

We have an indoor pool. People think its an enclosed three seasons room but its a pool room. We live in Chicagoland so it makes sense to have it enclosed so we can use it year round, of course it's heated too. It's 4.5 feet deep. We have a motorized retractable pool cover that can be walked on in when not in use. My kids came home from school today with a couple friends and went in for a bit while it was 53 degrees outside.

We have what kinda looks like a fish design, rounded and then comes in a bit at the shallow end for the walk down stairs. No real sharp edges. I like that. We also have the diving board at the very deep end center and the slide and the step out ladder placement on either side of the pool. We upgraded and went with this foam spray stuff they put in the bottom and then we get to change the vinyl liner for color or what have you ever so often but it's cool cause it feel like you are walking on one of the soft indoor mall play grounds for the little guys. Nice and squishy but firm. No roughness any where. The serious green safety cover that the car or elephant can stand on was a great investment & are cool & very user friendly too! We've loved having the pool and it makes for great strong comfortable swimmers! Ours is inches deep on the big stairs at then shallow end progresses out to 3ft and it's 8 ft at deep end. Plenty deep for flips when they get bigger.

Plan for what you want when they are older and go with that. The only safely feature for a pool for kids who don't swim is a gate and an alarm. You need to keep a vigilant watch on anyone who can't swim.

Concerning depth, you could have a 3 ft deep pool or a 300 ft deep pool - if you can't swim, you can't swim. So go for the big kid pool experience and watch those toddlers. And enjoy!!

I second the person who mentioned the community pool/swim club. We live in Alexandria, VA temporarily right now and we joined the community pool this last summer. Oh my gosh...so fun. It's like a social club. Our kids did swim team and tennis team and they LOVED it. All their school friends went there too. It was a really fun experience. I'll miss it when we move back to NM this next summer! It is just something to keep in mind...of course you can have a backyard pool AND join the community pool. Our kids both love swimming and our daughter learned at a very early age to swim well. She was swimming laps at age 5! Safety is the #1 thing though bc so many young kids drown even when parents are nearby...it's easy to get distracted. Our nephew almost died when he was 4 at a party at someone's house. All the adults were there eating and talking. He was wearing his floaties and swimming with all the other kids. He had to go to the restroom so he got out and took them off and then forgot when he jumped in the pool. They had to perform CPR on him bc he was lying on the bottom unconscious when someone noticed him. Luckily he came out of it and all he had to do was spend one night in the hospital. Not trying to scare you...just trying to spread the word about how we all have to be super careful with little ones and pools. As for a pool recommendation...make sure it has a diving board! When your kids get bigger that is all they want to do! (At least that is how mine are) One of those slides would be super fun too.