Video shows how easy toddler can scale a pool fence
A mum has sent a scary message to parents about pool fences.
By Livia Gamble
January 16 2017
A mum has shared a terrifying video highlighting how easy it is for a toddler to scale a fence.
Wendy Atkinson, mother to Brodie, shared a video on her Facebook page in the hopes of preventing any more children from drowning.
"After much deliberation, I am reposting this because I refuse to have another child drown before every parent has had a chance for my beautiful 2-year-old son to educate them," Atkinson, from Adelaide, wrote last week.
"To teach parents just how quick and clever a 2-year-old can be."
The video shows her son, still in nappies, climbing the fence with ease. While Wendy acknowledges the fence doesn’t meet all of the requirements for a pool, the footage sends a chilling message to parents.
“Our above standard high fence is essentially higher than the Australian standard. We are aware the gate has issues such as (goes inward not springloaded etc ) and had every intention of correcting this even though it would not make a difference to the outcome," Atkinson wrote.
With that in mind, the fence featured in the video is not a pool fence. After watching how easily her son climbed it, she and her husband decided to hold off on installing a pool until Brodie is a confident swimmer.
“This video shows he can scale and open the gate in 21 seconds unassisted no chairs, tables or bikes to stand on,” she said.
“Think about that 21seconds. While you've just sat down to breastfeed your baby the siblings have just flown out the back not realising baby is in tow.
“The kids go one way to the bikes baby goes straight to the pool up and over in 21 seconds gone no splash nothing.
“As vigilant as we like to think we all are and would love to be when you add extra risks like unpredictable siblings, friends, environment it gets beyond your control accidents will happen.”
The post has been shared over 7,000 times with many thanking Atkinson for sharing the video.
“Quite scary but believable. Toddlers are always pushing boundaries. If there had been a pool behind that fence, it could have been a tragedy," wrote one commenter, adding, “thank you for the heads up!”
Another said: “Good on you, Wendy for posting this. A brave action by a concerned mum.”
Fence requirements
According to Fair Trading (New South Wales only) a pool fence must:
- be at least 1.2m high (as measured from the finished ground level)
- not leave a gap at the bottom bigger than 10cm from the finished ground level
- not have gaps of more than 10cm between any vertical bars in the fence
- if containing horizontal climbable bars, have these spaced at least 90cm apart.
