Blog

As a mom of two little kids, I have been dreaming of the day where I can sit back in a lounge chair, read a book, and have the excitement of summertime swimming as my background noise. It took some time, but I am so happy to say the day has finally arrived!  Of course, we can never truly have our guards down when we have children swimming in our pools, but I am confident that the years of swimming lessons have finally paid off!  My children are fish, and they will spend hours in the pool! On a typical summer day, I will have two sets of wet bathing suits on the bathroom floor…a pre-lunch set and a post-lunch set.  I may even have a couple chapters of my book read!  Adding family friendly design features to your pool can entertain kids all day long!  Oak Wells Aquatics offers many different options, and as a family focused business, our design team can lead you in the direction of a safe and entertaining pool that is a perfect fit for your family.

If you have a toddler in your family, a sun shelf is a great water feature that allows non-swimmers to experience water play while giving you the peace of mind you need in order to enjoy your day.  Most sun shelves are 8-10 inches deep.  They can measure the entire width of a pool, or they can take up a portion of a side.  Your sun shelf can be customed designed to fit two loungers as well.  Umbrella holders are often installed in sun shelves.  This way, you can relax on your lounger, get an occasional splash of refreshing water, and hide from the direct sun.  Many customers choose to have bubblers installed on the floor of the sun shelf.  A bubbler is a stream of bubbles that shoot up from the pool floor.  Kids like to see if they can hold back the bubbles, either with their hands or by sitting on it!  Let’s be honest, adults do too!  Bubblers come in a color LED option, which gives pools a resort-like look in the evening.  There always needs to be a strict “no jumping over the sun shelf” policy!

Another design feature you may choose is a waterfall!  My son LOVES waterfalls.  We do not have one in our pool, but grandpa does! He will hide in the tunnel that the sheer fall creates for hours.  I’m not quite sure what he is imagining, but I’m sure it has something to do with being on an adventure.  There are many different types of waterfalls.  You can choose a staggered waterfall where the water cascades down into the pool.  This looks great with artificial rocks.  You may choose a cleaner waterfall design where the water comes down in more of a sheer sheet.  There are even ways to customize your waterfall to create the sound that you desire!  At Oak Wells, you will always receive a 3-D rendering of your pool, and you can see just what type of waterfall will fit your pool backyard vibe perfectly.  If there is not enough room for an actual waterfall feature, and you design your pool with a spa, a spa spillway may even have a similar effect.  We offer beautiful glass tile options for spillways that give the most serene look to your backyard paradise.

Speaking of spas, a spa itself is a great family friendly feature to add to your swimming pool!  In winter, your kids can still enjoy the water without having to heat up the entire pool.  Of course, just like with adults, be mindful of the temperature and the amount of time your kids spend in the spa.  In the summer, you can use your spa as your own tiny kiddie pool without heating it up.  A spa has a depth of 3 feet, and generally is 7 feet by 7 feet.  Kids love to experiment with the jets and the bubbles. 

For insurance purposes, gone are the days of personal diving boards and water slides.  Pools generally are not big enough or deep enough anyway!  Personally, not having these options is a good thing for my family.  If those still existed, I know I would not be able to take my eyes off my kids.  They would be throwing each other off the ladder to get to the top of the water slide, or doing backward flips way too close to the diving board.  I would have ZERO chapters of my book read, and all that time I spent dreaming of not eagle eye watching my kids would be forgotten.  Fortunately, today we have so many family friendly design options for your swimming pool!  Let the design team at Oak Wells Aquatics design the pool that matches your family’s energy and makes all the neighborhood kids choose your backyard to litter with wet towels and pool darts.