| Important Parent Points and Frequently Asked Questions |
We have striven to provide a family friendly environment and you have no doubt read already about everything we offer to provide a fun and relaxing place to stay for all
the family. However, we do not profess to have properties specifically designed to accommodate young children. We have done what we are able to avoid obvious
hazards but also we have to accommodate the needs of all our guests. The properties have been converted from 200yr old stone barns and were renovated before we
had children !! No property could be completely free of hazard but you should be aware of them prior to booking.
1, STAIRCASES
In five of our cottages at La Grange du Moulin, we have cast iron, open tread spiral staircases. Any staircase is potentially hazardous, but these are obviously by their
nature very steep with triangular shaped steps. We provide stair gates or barriers for all of our staircases as standard. At the base and top where it is not possible to fit a
stair gate as it is designed the stair gate can be used as a barrier by securely attaching it to the staircase using an elastic cord provided. All the properties at Les Vallaies
have wooden straight staircases. In Vierge and Baleine these are of a standard steepness with closed treads, in Cassiopee and Cygne the staircases are steeper than
standard and have open treads.
2, GARDEN
The main gardens at both properties are enclosed by a wall, fence and gates, the lanes are very quiet and the rest of the property is surrounded by open fields. Your
toddler is prevented from running directly into the road to chase a ball but it is your responsibility as their guardian to ensure they are suitably supervised at all times and
are not given time to wander off . It is the responsibility of all adults on the property to ensure the gates are closed correctly immediately after use. The rear terraces at
La Grange du Moulin and the parking track are not enclosed. It is possible to leave your front and back doors open and thus allow a child to 'escape' given time if
unsupervised. This rear area to the cottages backs onto open fields so is not an immediate danger but we do need to emphasise that you are responsible for your own
children. Throughout the garden there are uneven steps, slopes and areas where toddlers may trip or fall, parents should explore the garden with their children before
allowing children to explore alone. Young children must be supervised at all times. At Les Vallaies the Pavillon villa garden is not enclosed completely.
3, DRIVEWAY
In front of the cottages at La Grange du Moulin there is a gravel driveway (between the cottages and garden) Vehicule passage is restricted to loading / unloading of
luggage and full shopping loads or a sleeping child. As a driver you must be fully aware of the presence of young children and move your car accordingly. As a parent
you must be aware when a car is present. This is only really an issue on arrival and departure days. At Les Vallaies cars are parked off road on our land. In order for
guests from the pool side cottages to reach the garden and garden side guests to reach the pool you must walk past these cars, adjacent and open to the lane, we
therefore strongly recommend that young children are accompanied.
4, SWIMMING POOL
Our swimming pools are fully enclosed with one access gate which is self closing and has a child proof latch. It is also alarmed and so conforms to the current French
regulations. It is designed to prevent a child younger than 5 yrs old from accessing the pool area alone (although older children often cannot reach the latch either). You
must make older children who are able to open the gate by themselves fully aware of the dangers of a swimming pool and express upon them never open the gate for a
younger child and never enter the pool area without an adult. For extra security and to conform with French regulations we also have an alarm system on the pool
which sounds if a child should accidentally fall in. There are certain times that this alarm is not active eg when it is resetting itself after the pool has been used (a period
of about 5 mins whilst the water settles) and parents should
be extra vigilant at these times if they are around the pool with their children. The pools are not supervised, parents or another responsible person must accompany all
children at all times, even if the child can swim.
5, TILED FLOORS and STEPS
These are obviously hard, if you drop something it will break, if you fall, it will hurt. They become very slippy when wet, so don't allow children to run in from the pool
and mop up spills immediately. Do not use external plastic garden chairs inside as they will slip. Some of the cottages have occasional steps (1 or 2), on entering the
cottage (papillon, peche, cassiopee) or at the rear, also on some staircases the stair barrier will only fit several steps up rather than at the base.
6, WINDOWS
Due to the old nature of the property and its previous use as farm buildings some windows are very low. All our low windows have been fitted with window locks or
chains to prevent them from being opened fully. All other windows are at the regulation height and do not necessarily have locks.
PLEASE REMEMBER YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUPERVISION OF YOUR CHILDREN
the family. However, we do not profess to have properties specifically designed to accommodate young children. We have done what we are able to avoid obvious
hazards but also we have to accommodate the needs of all our guests. The properties have been converted from 200yr old stone barns and were renovated before we
had children !! No property could be completely free of hazard but you should be aware of them prior to booking.
1, STAIRCASES
In five of our cottages at La Grange du Moulin, we have cast iron, open tread spiral staircases. Any staircase is potentially hazardous, but these are obviously by their
nature very steep with triangular shaped steps. We provide stair gates or barriers for all of our staircases as standard. At the base and top where it is not possible to fit a
stair gate as it is designed the stair gate can be used as a barrier by securely attaching it to the staircase using an elastic cord provided. All the properties at Les Vallaies
have wooden straight staircases. In Vierge and Baleine these are of a standard steepness with closed treads, in Cassiopee and Cygne the staircases are steeper than
standard and have open treads.
2, GARDEN
The main gardens at both properties are enclosed by a wall, fence and gates, the lanes are very quiet and the rest of the property is surrounded by open fields. Your
toddler is prevented from running directly into the road to chase a ball but it is your responsibility as their guardian to ensure they are suitably supervised at all times and
are not given time to wander off . It is the responsibility of all adults on the property to ensure the gates are closed correctly immediately after use. The rear terraces at
La Grange du Moulin and the parking track are not enclosed. It is possible to leave your front and back doors open and thus allow a child to 'escape' given time if
unsupervised. This rear area to the cottages backs onto open fields so is not an immediate danger but we do need to emphasise that you are responsible for your own
children. Throughout the garden there are uneven steps, slopes and areas where toddlers may trip or fall, parents should explore the garden with their children before
allowing children to explore alone. Young children must be supervised at all times. At Les Vallaies the Pavillon villa garden is not enclosed completely.
3, DRIVEWAY
In front of the cottages at La Grange du Moulin there is a gravel driveway (between the cottages and garden) Vehicule passage is restricted to loading / unloading of
luggage and full shopping loads or a sleeping child. As a driver you must be fully aware of the presence of young children and move your car accordingly. As a parent
you must be aware when a car is present. This is only really an issue on arrival and departure days. At Les Vallaies cars are parked off road on our land. In order for
guests from the pool side cottages to reach the garden and garden side guests to reach the pool you must walk past these cars, adjacent and open to the lane, we
therefore strongly recommend that young children are accompanied.
4, SWIMMING POOL
Our swimming pools are fully enclosed with one access gate which is self closing and has a child proof latch. It is also alarmed and so conforms to the current French
regulations. It is designed to prevent a child younger than 5 yrs old from accessing the pool area alone (although older children often cannot reach the latch either). You
must make older children who are able to open the gate by themselves fully aware of the dangers of a swimming pool and express upon them never open the gate for a
younger child and never enter the pool area without an adult. For extra security and to conform with French regulations we also have an alarm system on the pool
which sounds if a child should accidentally fall in. There are certain times that this alarm is not active eg when it is resetting itself after the pool has been used (a period
of about 5 mins whilst the water settles) and parents should
be extra vigilant at these times if they are around the pool with their children. The pools are not supervised, parents or another responsible person must accompany all
children at all times, even if the child can swim.
5, TILED FLOORS and STEPS
These are obviously hard, if you drop something it will break, if you fall, it will hurt. They become very slippy when wet, so don't allow children to run in from the pool
and mop up spills immediately. Do not use external plastic garden chairs inside as they will slip. Some of the cottages have occasional steps (1 or 2), on entering the
cottage (papillon, peche, cassiopee) or at the rear, also on some staircases the stair barrier will only fit several steps up rather than at the base.
6, WINDOWS
Due to the old nature of the property and its previous use as farm buildings some windows are very low. All our low windows have been fitted with window locks or
chains to prevent them from being opened fully. All other windows are at the regulation height and do not necessarily have locks.
PLEASE REMEMBER YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUPERVISION OF YOUR CHILDREN
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