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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To complain to the pool

27 replies

MmmIceCream · 25/06/2012 08:45

Am genuinely interested if IABU or not for thinking about complaining to the pool so decided to put it to the MN jury ...

Yesterday, I went to the local pool with a few family members, including my niece (5). The child's pool isn't that large, as it isn't a large pool complex. Right in the middle of the child's pool was a giant inflatable slide. My niece wanted to slide down the slide and made her way toward it, only to be told by another girl of about the same age that she wasn't allowed to go on it. She was upset at being told off by the girl and not being able to use the slide, so we asked the pool attendant and were told that the other girl was correct - it had been put out for a birthday party, and only the party invitees were allowed on the slide. We were told that she was allowed on it if none of the girls at the party were using it, but it was in near constant use and she ended up loitering around for a while before getting a turn while the party girls had lots of slides. I also noticed a few other obviously non-party children wanted to go on the slide as well.

The more I think about it, the more I feel cross that the pool would put something right in the middle of the pool that only some of the children could play on. IABU? I understand that it was for a party and that the parents may have hired the slide (TBH I don't actually know if you have to pay for it to be put up) but feel that if it was something only some children could play on, it should at least be in a roped off section of the pool, not right where all the other children are playing.

AIBU?

OP posts:
manchestermummy · 25/06/2012 09:02

I think they should have roped it off, seems a bit odd that they would make more work for themselves by not doing so and having to constantly tell other kids they couldn't go on it!

YANBU, I would say something to the pool. They just might not have realised that the need to address the issue.

whatlauradid · 25/06/2012 09:16

YANBU. I would say something too. It should definitely have been roped off.

ohchristFENTON · 25/06/2012 09:21

YANBU

They are just asking for problems by doing this aren't they. It would be different if it was a large pool and as whatlauradid said they could have roped a section off for the party, but to expect other youngsters to not try to play on it is at best a bit daft.

IawnCont · 25/06/2012 09:23

YANBU

GrahamTribe · 25/06/2012 09:24

YABU. An explanation was given to you as to why the slide wasn't for public use and all you need to do is tell your child that they can't go on it because it's especially for someone else's use. What's the problem?

TantrumsAndBalloons · 25/06/2012 09:58

Maybe they should have roped it off buy it sounds like that was not possible in a small pool.

However YABU to have let your dc hang around waiting for a turn when you had been told it was for private use for a party and IMHO quite rude to assume your DH should be entitled to use it.

What exactly are you going to complain about?

TubbyDuffs · 25/06/2012 10:03

I think the pool were unreasonable not to state, before you paid your money to use the facilities, that a party was on and certain areas would be out of bounds to you.

xDivAx · 25/06/2012 10:04

YANBU, it should have been roped off. Bless the little kiddies that were having fun flaunted at them, very unfair IMO.

VonHerrBurton · 25/06/2012 11:17

The pool should either close to the public for parties that involve inflatables, slides etc - ours does. So in that respect They (the pool) ABU.

But I'm afraid YABU to potentially make a fuss about it. The dc are old enough to accept the explaination that the slide is especially for another child's birthday party and for her and her friends only. After all, you didn't go to the pool expecting the slide to be there. She absolutley shouldn't have been allowed to 'loiter around' looking hopeful and waiting for an opportunity. If I was the parent of the child who's birthday it was, I would have felt most uncomfortable. Wouldn't you? I've had a similar party for ds and if the pool was open to the public and every Tom, Dick and Harry were in the queue I would have felt really awkward.

VonHerrBurton · 25/06/2012 11:18

..either close to public or rope off... (should read over posts!!)

savoycabbage · 25/06/2012 11:23

What Burton said. The pool should have told you/roped it off if there is room/closed but you should have not let her hang around the slide.

Our pool has a slide which they hire out for parties and have out on certain days in the school holidays. You could find out if your pool has the slide out at other times.

OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos · 25/06/2012 11:33

They should have roped it off, but I don't think they were wrong to put it there. I think it should have been roped off for the benefit of the party goers and because someone has probably paid for it, rather than them roping it of for the rest of the public, although the effect would have been the same.

You just tell your child that it is there for a birthday party. 5yos know all about birthday parties being special, she should have been able to understand it.

CatholicDad · 25/06/2012 15:06

No, you're not. Question is: why did they not close the children's pool for the duration of the private party? I suspect there are quite a few reasons, all of them rectangular, with the Queen's head on them

cansu · 25/06/2012 15:12

This would really annoy me. My ds is very severely autistic and I have had our outing to local pool ruined by things like this. My ds is non verbal and would not be able to understand slide is for party guests rule. If it is a public swimming session then any changes should be clearly displayed and should frankly not impact on others who are intending to use the pool. Last time I went to my local pool they suddenly moved an aqua class into the leisure pool cue loud music and half the pool out of use and massive anxiety and meltdown for my ds.

lambethlil · 25/06/2012 15:14

YANBU. I'm not sure it's worth complaining about though.

MammaTJ · 25/06/2012 15:24

YANBU. Even my 6 year old would be upset by her perceived unfairness of this.

rhondajean · 25/06/2012 16:37

I'm split on this one.

There are lots of places you go to where you can't access some of the things, for one reason or another.

If I had paid for the slide for my child's birthday, then the pool staff said other children could use it anyway as long as we weren't on it, I'd be royally peed off and wonder exactly what I had paid them for.

But it does seem very unfair for a small child to see it there with no visible roping off or sign that it's not for general use and then not be allowed to go on it.

lisaro · 25/06/2012 16:41

Actually that's a rotten thing to do. How the hell can a five year old make sense of that? Absolutely complain.

TantrumsAndBalloons · 25/06/2012 17:15

Id be quite worried if my five year old had not understood the concept of no tbh.

Esclaffer · 25/06/2012 17:48

It's unfair to flaunt unusable equipment in other children's faces, but if it is a small pool then maybe there wasn't enough space to rope an area off. And if they had roped an area off, there would be less space for your niece and the rest of you to swim in. So neither situation would be perfect. Therefore, I wouldn't complain as I don't really think there is an argument past "But it's unfair!" which risks you sounding like a five year old yourself.

MrGrey · 25/06/2012 17:57

I think for the most part yabu.

A 5 year old should be able to understand no. Slightly different but at our local pool there are lots of toys and floats around the pool but they are only for use in swimming lessons, it's temptation for the children but they have to understand.

I do think that you should have been pre warned if there was a private party and it should have been roped off but to me what you're saying is almost like saying my neighbours had a bouncy castle for their childs birthday how dare they as it upset my child.

BalloonSlayer · 25/06/2012 17:57

YANBU

I took my non-swimming DCs to the pool one day and found that the whole non-swimming shallow bit was out of use for lessons.

We'd never been to that pool before, so I didn't know lessons ran at that time. I was annoyed no one had said when we paid for our tickets "oh there are lessons in the little pool." I can't remember why I didn't complain.

sooperdooper · 25/06/2012 18:00

I think they could've roped it off or made it a private party so they had sole use of the whole pool - or warned you when you went it with a child that a party was going on - but tbh you should've just explained to your neice that it was someone elses slide and that you'd come to swim, not play on the slide - it's not that hard a concept to understand and not the end of the world

IShallWearMidnight · 25/06/2012 18:02

MrGrey, it's more like having bouncy castle for your DCs party, which you're holding in an open to the public play park, rather than in your own garden/a closed off field.

MrGrey · 25/06/2012 18:11

Ishall, I wouldn't see the issue with that either as long as they had permission from the land owners to be there.