ATTLEBORO, Mass. (NEWS CENTER Maine) — As temperatures soar, parents are beginning to think about pool safety, but a family in Attleboro said the device they installed to keep their backyard safe, put their toddler in danger. The video they posted demonstrating it has since gone viral on social media.
The Wyman family just installed an above ground pool in their backyard, with a ladder that includes a safety cover. The cover has slats in it, which the family said makes it easy for their toddler to climb it and go right into the pool.
They noticed what their child was doing before they started rolling, filming the video of it on purpose to prove a point. Before the child goes in, his mother intervenes, but the family said it sheds light on what they believe is a design flaw.
“If a two-year-old can do it, a six-year-old can do it and an eight-year-old can do it,” Keith Wyman, the child’s father said. “The door on the ladder needs to be one solid piece if anything.”
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Wyman posted the video of his son on Facebook on Friday. It has since been shared more than 530,000 times by people all over the world.
Wyman said he has received responses from users as far away as Uganda and Australia.
The pool store the family bought the ladder from offered to let them exchange it for a different model, but the family said many of the ladders have a similar design.
A flier the family said came with the ladder listed two companies near the ladder - Hayward Pool Products and Pentair Pool Products, though it is not clear whether either of these companies is the ladder's manufacturer. NBC10 Boston reached out to both companies but did not receive a response.
The Wyman family now plans to install a fence around the pool to better protect it, but hope their video raises awareness.
“It was an eye-opener,” Keith Wyman, the child’s father said. “It was a life lesson and we want to get this out there
