To wish people would supervise their showering 3-6 year olds in the swimming pool changing rooms

[lecce]

This is hugely trivial, but hugely annoying.

There is one communal shower area with 5 shower heads. Only 2 of these can be reached from the dry area if, for example, you are not having a shower yourself but are trying to help your child with hair rinsing etc.

About 7 children come into the shower together. I seem to be one of only 2 mothers who gets up and helps her child to wash. The other children are just standing under the water, not washing and their mothers are presumably sitting on the benches.

It seems that ds never gets a shower near the entrance and I have to shout instructions to him at the back of the area. He is gormless in this situation and has a knack of standing just out of reach of the water, not tipping his head back etc etc. It would be so much easier if he was near me. Also, the water is on a timer thing and a button has to be pressed. Lots of the children aren't good at this and I end up helping them - where are their parents??

Of course I don't begrudge children the experience of standing under nice warm water when they have come out of the cold water, but I just wish their mothers would get up, see they are in the way, and ask them to move back. Today I did nicely ask a girl to swap places with ds but she looked straight at me and blanked me as only a 3 yr old can .

I know how trivial it sounds and I don't think I've conveyed the rage I feel on account of being so fecking hot in that sauna of a room, having to keep an eye on ds2, being annoyed at ds1 for not going under the water and then these water-wallowing pre-schoolers just top it off. AIBU

[RollerCola]

Because, if it's anything like the shower at our swimming pool, the thought of up to 10 clothed parents paddling about in their bare feet trying to supervise a bunch of kids wash their hair without everyone getting soaked to death isn't really practical?

I just tell ds to have a quick shower to get warm, make sure he can see me waiting with his towel and then meet him in the changing rooms. Parents in the showers would be chaotic (at our pool anyway - yours may be more organised/spacious?)

[SidTheSloth]

What about just telling him to rinse off then shower properly at home?

[intheshed]

I never shower mine after swimming, just give them a bath later at home. Much easier!

[RevoltingPeasant]

Today I was in the shower at the pool and there was a boy of about 4 by himself under the water. He looked up at me and said confidentially, 'I'm going to do a poo now'.

That was a short shower!

[littleducks]

I switched to a pool with (lots) of cubicle showers after getting stressed about having to come home and get dd to have a proper shower.

I would stop helping the other children (excluding dangerous situations or them being really distressed) it may be that their parents want them out quickly and are hoping the shower timing out will make that an easier process.

[Raaraathenoisybaby]

Yanbu. Sounds really annoying but like others I'm of the bath at home later persuasion too

[Pleasesleep]

Ha. I think you might go to the same preschool lessons as us :o

I do supervise-ish. I.e. I'm in the background, and i am watching and listening (although you might not know it) But I also have dc2 to supervise and it's difficult to get into the shower without getting wet.

Especially as there are other parents standing there.

I don't know what I would do. It's not really THAT major an issue is it? You could wait until one of the other children have finished, use other showers, try to get there first, or like Sid said: shower him at home.

I think yabu. Sorry.

[rosy71]

I can never understand why people are so bothered about their children washing their hair in the showers after swimming. I just get mine to have a quick shower, then wash their hair etc later on at home.

[Mintyy]

Me too! Really can't understand anyone, child or adult, having their "proper" shower of the day in the communal showers at the swimming pool. Its hardly ideal when, presumably, you have a much cleaner bathroom and plenty of time at home.