Bloody hair washing time at the pool

[paisleyII]

every week although been getting progressively worse each week after dd's swimming lesson the ten showers are dominated by the same mothers all clutching their fucking bottles of shampoo instructing their one or more young offspring the art of hair washing whilst the rest of us stand there with kids getting cold waiting to rinse the chlorine off. i have given up and to save getting seriously pissed off will now just come straight home and run a bath and wash dd's hair which is a pain as her lesson finishes late so wouldn't normally do this after swimming. it used to only be a few mothers clutching the old bottle of shampoo but now there is a gang of them who oddly enough EVERY week get to the ten showers first and hog them for ages - i bet they are the same mums who get the best parking spaces when doing the school run every day and hog the sun loungers by the pool getting there super early.

I so agree with this - it drives me bonkers.

The endless lathering, rinsing, repeating . . .

The children with hair down to their waists . . .

We just get the hell out of there!

I shoved stuff out a cubicle more than once :)

Would you get out of a swimming pool and not wash your hair and soap your skin properly to get the chlorine off? I wouldn't. Especially not a pool that children have been in (they make those extra-chloriney).

I agree with MrsDaffodil: I don't think it is the shampoiing and conditioning, per se, it is the manners around it.

Trills: yep, shower when you get home.

YANBU.

I go straight home and wash the children at home. I can't shower adequately in full view of everyone anyone.

I'd have no qualms whatsoever about removing stuff left in a change room to "reserve it". They leave it there at their own risk. I would pile it on a bench.

My son had his wallet stolen when he left his stuff in the change room, you can bet he always remembers his locker money now. Lesson learned.

'I was clearly having a bad day and pushed all the clothes onto the floor and used them as a nice dry rug.'

Oh, they took his clothes too, so he had to come home in winter in a wet swim suit and a borrowed coat from a staff member.

iscream. DD and DH went swimming in Stockport around Christmas. Someone had left all his clothes in the cubicle that DD was changing in. All his clothes were hung up neatly on the back of the door including a jacket with a wallet hanging out of the saggy inside pocket.
DD took it to the reception. It was bulging with cash.

Mrs Daffodil. My DD2 has particularly thick hair and, though shoulder length now, it was down to her waist as a youngster. Fortunately the pool we used insisted on swimming caps for all official lessons (boys as well) so I just used to comb through some "swim and sun" hair protector and then plait it under her cap. Result, she could just rinse off quickly after swimming and then shower properly at home. No tangles, problem solved!

Thanks Frantic, she does have to wear an official bathing cap, but she seems to have a very small head so it doesn't fit properly and her hair gets all wet and bunched up under it. I wonder if you can buy smaller ones anywhere? (wouldn't have the swim school stuff on then though, but maybe they'd be sympathetic).

That said, it doesn't really bother me too much, or anyone else I think, as we ensure we have a leisure swim so that we are getting out at a time when the showers are empty.

They are reaaaaaally tired after swimming and their lesson is quite late, so I really don't want to get undressed again and shower again when we get home. If we were holding up others I would re-consider of course.

I'm a shampoo mummy as well but we keep it quick and tbh I've never seen a queue for showers at our leisure centre.

Never seen anyone leave their clothes in a cubicle here - either a) we're all well disciplined or b) the stuff would be nicked.

I have known a lady at a previous gym who used to spread her clothes over an entire 6 foot bench though, leaving them there for an hour, and was also very good at hogging the treadmill for 45 minutes (sign on it saying 20 minutes maximum). She had very expensive undies- was tempted more than once to have them accidently fall on the wet floor.

As kids my mother would take us to the pool in our bathers and bathrobes with flip flops on. After the lesson bathrobes and flip flops on over wet bathers then straight home for a shower. Nothing to pack (or forget), nothing to bring home (or forget). I do the same with DS (well, me and DS).

There are 5 cubicles along the edge of a communal (girls) changing room and DS prefers to use a cubicle now. I have repeatedly moved clothes left in a cubicle out into the communal area. If they don't want them to be moved, they shouldn't leave them in there. There are no lockers, just pegs and a shelf for shoes under the benches.

Mrs Daffodil. Yes my DD has a pretty small head too. That's why I used to plait it and wind the plait up around her head under the cap, it gave her head a bit more bulk and helped the cap to stay put a bit better. Her hair did still get wet but the "swim and sun" protector plus the plait stopped it getting tangled and stopped the chlorine penetrating so she could just release the plait and rinse in the shower and the comb through and re-plait before going home.

• then comb through

The leisure centre we used to use had Notices asking people to not spend a lot of time in showers - not a big thing but I think it made a difference to the "culture"

i am not - sorry, that really made me laugh, you quoting me saying you are not a 'brickshithouse'. cat64 - you're having a laugh aren't you? me dare to speak to one of their offspring requesting they let my dd have a quick wet down whilst they lather up - red flag to a bull, their mother would be all over me like a rash, very confrontational these types, tbh i can't be arsed with it, it was alot easier washing dd's hair when i got home and didn't get my blood pressure up. the worst offenders, i have observed are the wannabee wag types, all drive 4x4's and wear large sun glasses and have long manicured nails/fake tan, you know the ones, always on their mobils whilst holding the shampoo :)

Luckily we have loads of cubicles - some larger than others so never a problem.

I am a shampooing mum but to be fair DD's lesson is the first one of the morning on a Sunday at 8.30am and there are 4 girls in her class and around 6 littlies in the other class. My DD and her possie tend to have a 10 min play between lessons and then come out in dribs and drabs, so the 7 open plan showers are never full. We are quite civilised around here and the mums know each other, so we make sure they all share and dont hog the showers. I do hurry DD along and if there are other ladies waiting who have been doing public swimming I let them use the shower first! I would hate to wait in my cossie for a 9 year old to finish in the shower.