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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:
Tinybrother · 10/09/2023 14:51

“If its poolside showers where you have to keep your costume on you could get your hair clean but surely not your body”

my children’s bodies are already clean when they go into the pool. They just wash hair and rinse off the chlorine after swimming with costumes on and have baths at other times at home (not necessarily immediately after swimming as it’s likely not convenient). This is not a massive head-scratcher.

DappledThings · 10/09/2023 14:59

Ours have lessons at a school pool and there are no showers so straight into onesies and home.

They used to be at a hotel pool but I did the same, never bothered doing anything to wash them till we got home.

boomtickhouse · 10/09/2023 15:05

The showers are turned off for lesson sessions at our pool!! Interesting to see no one else has said that here. I think they turned them off in covid times and have kept it that way to avoid the rush / mess.

Sceptre86 · 10/09/2023 15:11

Mine go with their dad and they just have a quick rinse. Their class is on Sunday mornings and I bath them when they get in, followed by lunch before we head out.

Boshi · 10/09/2023 15:45

Yes defo proper soap down and shampoo, can’t be bothered doing all that again at home!

Natsku · 10/09/2023 15:53

Tinybrother · 10/09/2023 14:51

“If its poolside showers where you have to keep your costume on you could get your hair clean but surely not your body”

my children’s bodies are already clean when they go into the pool. They just wash hair and rinse off the chlorine after swimming with costumes on and have baths at other times at home (not necessarily immediately after swimming as it’s likely not convenient). This is not a massive head-scratcher.

My children are clean before going in too because we always shower before going in the pool but like to shower properly with soap afterwards as both have skin that tends to the sensitive side and just rinsing doesn't seem to get the chlorine off properly. Plus its a good opportunity for a proper shower because the showers are so nice - we have shit water pressure at home so its a treat to have good pressure!

Tinybrother · 10/09/2023 15:56

That’s fine but we don’t have shower cubicles - it’s all open to the pool and I’m not keen on my own children stripping off

Imamumgetmeoutofhere · 10/09/2023 16:30

I always get my DD to shower fully after swimming. Whether is straight away at the pool or as soon as we get home.

She has long hair and the chlorine is very drying and makes it knotty

ellesbellesxxx · 10/09/2023 16:41

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.

My two do this too, straight into pjs

smartiesneberhadtheanswer · 10/09/2023 16:50

No they don't even rinse, but then neither have sensitive skin

mondaytosunday · 10/09/2023 16:58

All the kids just rinsed off. The showers are push in kind so only last about 30 seconds - seems a pretty strong indication that you rinse off and let someone else have a turn!

whyisitallsohard · 10/09/2023 18:49

@DatumTarum haha it reads funny, true. not to be rude, but many adults let alone kids dont wash or wipe their asses before even getting in the pool, so i think there's faeces and urine in pools, it's a known thing. they also dont clean the pools as often as people think, maybe once a week, they rely on the chlorine.

Tinybrother · 10/09/2023 18:58

“not to be rude, but many adults let alone kids dont wash or wipe their asses before even getting in the pool, so i think there's faeces and urine in pools, it's a known thing. they also dont clean the pools as often as people think, maybe once a week, they rely on the chlorine.”

this doesn’t bother me. I’m a human living among other humans and the benefits of swimming for me far outweigh the existence of residual dirt (mitigated somewhat by pool chemicals) that comes from being around other people. It’s not that people don’t know this stuff, it just doesn’t bother them like it does you. We’re all different

Poppins2016 · 10/09/2023 19:01

We do a proper hair wash and shower, because it's easier/more time efficient to just get on with it.

Having said that, we only do this because there are always showers free and we're not getting cold waiting. If there was a struggle for free showers we'd probably rinse and go home to wash properly. There are also some exceptions, such as if I know we'll do an activity after swimming where DS will get filthy and need a bath/shower in the evening (then he'll just quickly rinse, dry and get dressed).

CantThinkOfANewUsernameAgain · 10/09/2023 19:52

I used to fully shower ds because why faff doing it twice?

Crunchymum · 10/09/2023 20:11

Quick rinse. DD wears a swim hat, DS has short hair.

On the odd occasion DD hasn't worn a swim hat and we've not given her hair a proper shampoo wash, her hair looks amazing. What is that all about?

reluctantbrit · 10/09/2023 20:25

Just. a rinse to get the chlorine off. The showers are awful, I don't want to be in them any longer than a rinse.

At home, straight into the proper shower.

ShutTheDoorBabe · 10/09/2023 20:30

Most kids after their school swimming lesson just walk under the water and then on to the changing rooms in a long, constable moving queue.

drakespoon · 10/09/2023 20:34

We just rinse off, and usually go out straight afterwards as we have morning lessons/family swim sessions. Have a bath at home in the evening. DCs are 5 and 1 and it's too much faff using shampoo etc after a swim. The chlorine doesn't seem to make any difference to our bodies or hair. Often DD will refuse to have her hair washed after a swimming day and it makes no difference to how it looks.

1984Winston · 10/09/2023 20:58

I wash my daughters hair after swimming at the pool because we don't have a shower and it cuts down energy costs at home

FLOWER1982 · 10/09/2023 21:03

We do a proper hair wash at home. There’s 6 showers at our leisure centre and the amount of kids (parents) that want to do a full shampoo / condition/ body wash while there’s a massive queue of people waiting to use the showers annoys me so much. They don’t rush either. Either oblivious or entitled.

TheCurtainQueen · 10/09/2023 21:03

What are you talking about? The whole point of putting chlorine in the water is to prevent bacteria etc. it’s really not as filthy as you’re making out.

I also don’t understand this obsession with washing off the chlorine like it’s going to do untold damage to hair and skin. My daughter swims weekly and she just has a rinse when she gets out of the pool. We might not wash her hair with shampoo for days after. She has lovely hair in very good condition. I’ve seen zero evidence that the chlorine is doing it any harm.

FusionChefGeoff · 10/09/2023 21:07

Nope. Didn't bother with shower at home either. We're done with lessons now and neither of their hair fell out or skin peeled off so I'm happy with the hours and stress we saved ourselves!

WhisperingHi · 10/09/2023 21:10

Swimming pool etiquette? Is there such a thing?

If you want to wash them, wash them. If you want to wait until you get home, do that. It really doesn't matter either way.

HorribleHisTories15 · 10/09/2023 21:31

TheCurtainQueen · 10/09/2023 21:03

What are you talking about? The whole point of putting chlorine in the water is to prevent bacteria etc. it’s really not as filthy as you’re making out.

I also don’t understand this obsession with washing off the chlorine like it’s going to do untold damage to hair and skin. My daughter swims weekly and she just has a rinse when she gets out of the pool. We might not wash her hair with shampoo for days after. She has lovely hair in very good condition. I’ve seen zero evidence that the chlorine is doing it any harm.

Exactly. This is why we need to encourage more girls to study chemistry at A Level and university, and use it in a productive way to make informed educated decisions. With all that scaremongering about bums and poo, it's a wonder we still learn to swim. Was that pp not aware of the amount of sewage being released into steams and ponds recently by an extremely large and reputable water company? But yet still thousands of people go swimming in rivers and streams. If that pp only bothered to realise how helpful chlorine has been in allowing us to use water more frequently than sending it out to the drain, they wouldn't have written such bollox nonsense.