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Original poster

Do your kids have a proper body and hair wash after their swimming lesson?

108 replies

OohAhJustALittleBit · 10/09/2023 10:08

Mine do because we tend to go straight out after instead of going home. The chlorine is terrible for their hair, and I figure they might as well have a quick wash while they're at it. Whole thing takes about 5 mins but I notice the vast majority just do a quick rinse off. Am I breaking some post swim shower etiquette or am I just the odd one out?

OP posts:

ohsoso · 10/09/2023 10:11

Out of pool, towel off, get dressed, leave. Have a shower in the evening before bed.

LivingDeadGirlUK · 10/09/2023 10:12

Yeah we just rinse but then have proper showers at home.

jswn · 10/09/2023 10:13

DS swimming lessons finish at 7pm, so he had a full hair/body wash there and then pretty much straight to bed when we get home.

PuttingDownRoots · 10/09/2023 10:13

I preferred them to have a proper shower at home in a cleaner shower without their swimming costume on.

If we were going out afterwards we would use shampoo, but still have a proper shower later.

Lemonademoney · 10/09/2023 10:14

I have very blonde children so always shampoo and shower properly before leaving. Chlorine is horrendous for hair and blonde hair is particularly porous so would be like straw if we didn’t wash it.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 10/09/2023 10:14

We just dry and go home- swimming is end of the day Sunday so fine to go home and wash hair etc. I couldn’t be bothered to schlep hair products and moisturiser etc to the pool

ColleenDonaghy · 10/09/2023 10:14

Swimming lesson is Sunday morning here so quick rinse and then home for a bath later, typically I bath them while DH cooks Sunday dinner which they eat in their PJs. Works for us.

Mine is only 5, so she wouldn't get a proper wash in those showers so even if we have something on that afternoon it's home for a shower there.

toomuchfaster · 10/09/2023 10:14

Quick rinse (possibly? I don't go in the changing room anymore!) then home for a proper shower and hair wash.

FawltyTower · 10/09/2023 10:16

I always give ds, 6, a proper shower after swimming. Shampoo, full bodywash. It takes a couple of minutes extra.

I can't see the logic in just rinsing them with water meaning you have to bath or shower them again at home, what a faff!

Wintersgirl · 10/09/2023 10:17

No you're not the only one, when I used to take the DC swimming we always washed hair and used shampoo as body wash as soon as they got out, I honestly couldn't be arsed with the faff at when we got home...it saved me time but each to their own.

Mayhemmumma · 10/09/2023 10:18

Not at pool side, proper shower at home

Whattodo112222 · 10/09/2023 10:18

Quick shower and proper hair wash and bath when we get in after tea. My daughters hair dries noticeably differently when she hair washes at the pool.

menopausalmare · 10/09/2023 10:18

After a swimming lesson there's always a mad scramble for the showers. Some kids are in there for ages, parents squirting badedas, completely oblivious to the kids shivering behind them. One of the reasons we sacked off the Saturday morning swim lessons.

YukoandHiro · 10/09/2023 10:19

Yes but my DD has eczema so it's essential for her skin health

greenmarsupial · 10/09/2023 10:20

Since covid, we have kept the arriving 'swim ready' and leaving in a towel (and Dryrobe if cold). The showers are much nicer at home and I don't have to cart so much stuff around.

It's ok to use the shower if you're going out and not home. The only etiquette around it is that it's a bit annoying when all the showers are taken up with kids having a full wash so you have to wait ages to have a pre-swim rinse. There aren't really enough showers to cope with all the kids coming in and out at the same time.

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 10/09/2023 10:23

There are nowhere near enough showers for everyone anyway so we try and be as quick as we can so everyone can rinse off before leaving. It's rubbish for other kids to stand there shivering while one is lathering up.

TheRosesAreInBloom · 10/09/2023 10:23

Straight home into the bath. My 5 ultra old daughter has very long hair so she wouldn’t manage to wash and rinse it properly under the pool showers.

Wintersgirl · 10/09/2023 10:23

I can't see the logic in just rinsing them with water meaning you have to bath or shower them again at home, what a faff!

Me neither, a quick shampoo and body wash when they get out and all I've got do to when I get in is dry their hair but each to their own!

TheRosesAreInBloom · 10/09/2023 10:24

Year old not ultra!

wineandmaltesershappyme · 10/09/2023 10:24

Mine has a rinse then proper shower as soon as home, only 1 shower at the pool and don't want to hold other people up.

Blinkinbloodyhayfever · 10/09/2023 10:25

I agree with @Lemonademoney so perhaps it as fair hair thing, but chlorine never used to be in / on my or my dc's hair for a minute longer than it needed to. We always took shampoo into pool exit showers, and in fact this was normal where I live. Again perhaps a fair haired thing, but my dd and I are prone to dry skin, and if we didn't shower properly she would get eczema. Most people were respectful about not taking too long!

Saschka · 10/09/2023 10:25

We don’t shower at all, just have a bath at home. Swimming finishes at 6pm and bath is 7:30pm, so doesn’t make much difference. Honestly DS loves his bath, and would feel shortchanged if he just had a shower (he’s 6).

If we are doing family swimming on a Saturday morning, we do shower and wash hair properly.

DatumTarum · 10/09/2023 10:27

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 10/09/2023 10:23

This.

Unless there's a medical reason to do so, it's a bit selfish to hog the showers for half an hour doing a full wash and conditioner

evtheria · 10/09/2023 10:27

DS nearly always uses a shampoo-soap all in one after the swim, he has curly hair and sensitive skin that I'm worried about chlorine ruining.

Then I usually don't ask him to shower again that evening, unless we go elsewhere that day eg playing at the park, or being in the city centre.

evtheria · 10/09/2023 10:29

Reading these comments I'm surprised at leisure centres with one or a few showers. We're lucky that there's about 6 and then 2 private stall ones at ours, but his swimming time is pretty quiet so it doesn't matter anyway.

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