Altercation over a changing cubicle

You know the cubicles are quite small very often, don’t you?

You have a small wet child wrapped in a towel, you’re trying to dry them and find their clothes and stop them dropping everything on the floor.

Yes you wouldn’t necessarily see anyone else’s stuff on the bench

Oh for goodness sake, it's a swimming pool cubicle, if it's anything like the leisure centre changing rooms by me there are loads. Leaving stuff in there for 5 mins whilst you get your child is not selfish. If there were limited changing rooms I'd get it but people are being batshit about this.

I am kind of with sweary woman. I cannot physically wash my kids after the pool while holding all their swimbags, towels and stuff (goggles, caps). Nor can most mums imho unless you’re an octopus with eight arms and sucker feet.

At my pool, the usual practice is to put all this except for shower towels in a cubicle on the way to the shower. This reserves the cubicle for the 5mins you are washing the kids. You then go back, to dry off and change.

I wouldn’t have started swearing at you, but your attitude would have got my back up if I’m being honest. You don’t just go into a cubicle that has someone’s stuff in there and use it. You at least call out and check round to see who’s stuff that is and if they mind you doing a superman quick change in there.

Erm ...I would never go in a cubicle with someone else's stuff and keep them potentially wet and naked and vulnerable...

email the pool and tell them about being shouted at by a user and ask them to consider either they need to build more cubicles or put posters up telling people their stuff will be removed if they leave it unattended in cubicles

Why didn't she just knock on the door and ask for her stuff like a normal person? Christ people are socially inept.

Cubicles aren’t bookable, if I find stuff in one when I’m taking ours swimming I put it on the bench outside, or hang it on the door/wall so it isn’t in our way. If members of staff find if they take it straight to lost property.

Well clearly there was someone using it, since their stuff was there. Maybe they were halfway through getting dry and a child was suddenly desperate for the loo? Maybe their child was in the shower and called for a bit of help? Maybe they were a dick who had 'reserved' a changing room. I don't know if the stuff was left for for thirty seconds or thirty minutes, but I do know that there's no chance neither OP or her child spotted someone else's stuff in the changing room they were standing in!

You’ve done nothing wrong. Nobody can reserve a cubical.

Next time I find someone's stuff in a cubicle, I'll sit on it!

YANBU.

I bet she is the sort to put her towel on the sun bed on holiday and leave it there too.

Did not warrant such abuse either.

You're not allowed to leave things in the cubicles around here. Interesting to hear the excuses of those trying to defend such a selfish act

Really? I put my kid's stuff in a locker, and just take his towel to fetch him. Then I get the rest of his stuff when he's in the cubicle, drying himself. Of is I'm not using a locker, his stuff is in a bag so no big deal to carry. If everyone reserves a locker for longer than they need it then it reduces throughout so more lockers are needed or people have to queue.

Why would she lie? If she saw them and used the cubicle anyway she's still NBU. There was no one using it.

Assuming you’d have a towel with you. When you did notice you could have moved wrapping him in the towel?

No you don’t reserve a cubical, our centre collects it in a black bin liner if the catch you.

I have just moved someone’s bag once out the cubical as they tried to get one of the bigger ones. You aren’t to know if they leave it 5 mins or 30 mins. Hopefully she’s learnt her lesson and won’t do it again.

It is reserving, whether it's 5 or 50 mins.

I don't believe you, or your five year old, didn't notice someone else's stuff in a changing room you were occupying. Complete tosh.

5 mins laying their clothes out whilst they shower is not reserving. Leaving them there for an hour is understandably not okay.

Does nobody use lockers?
Our council pool has many lockers and we are all expected to bring a spare £1 coin to use them. I tell the lifeguard if someone leaves stuff in a cubicle so he/she can put it somewhere safe so it doesn't get nicked.

She was lucky you didn't dump her stuff outside the cubicle.
When my older kids were of swimming lesson age it was a constant issue. People who had kids in subsequent lessons would arrive at 3.30 and occupy them until their last child had finished.
It was critical to my decision for dd3 to have private lessons in a private pool when her time came. I just didn't have it in me!

Whoever is first out the shower should get first dibs on the cubicles. Clothes don't need to be in there by themselves. Shame