Children, closely watched or not, stray onto other people's properties sooner or later. Often, what draws them are everyday objects -- pools, machinery or stacks of building materials -- that present both an irresistible lure and hidden danger to young children.

If something on your property is both inviting and dangerous, you have a special legal responsibility to try to prevent injuries to children who may wander onto the property. In many states, this rule is called the "attractive nuisance" doctrine. It can be roughly summarized with three rules:

• Children are not expected to fully realize the dangers they may encounter.
• A property owner who should realize that children are likely to come onto the property has a heightened responsibility to prevent harm.
• An owner who fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent injury is usually liable for a child's injuries.

What Is an Attractive Nuisance?

An attractive nuisance is a potentially harmful object so inviting or interesting to a child that it would lure the child onto the property to investigate.

An unenclosed swimming pool, for instance, or a fountain containing goldfish could be attractive nuisances. Ordinary objects can attract and injure children: an idling lawnmower, paint sprayer, table saw -- even the family auto. Children are also fascinated by construction sites and equipment, gasoline pumps, wells, tunnels, dumpsters, paths and stairways.

You may be thinking that almost anything could injure a small child. After all, even a stick in the yard can be picked up and poked into an eye. Yet a stick is not so unusual or enticing as to draw children over at their peril.

And not every dangerous condition is an attractive nuisance. Most natural conditions, such as a lake or a naturally steep bank, are not considered attractive nuisances. To be liable for injury, an owner must create or maintain the harmful object.