to pass my 4 year old off as 5?

[sunnysunchild]

On the basis that everyone else is doing it?

Free swimming lessons over the summer hols, started on monday. Ages 5 and up. The kind where parents sit and watch by the side of pool. My older child is attending already, and me and DS sit and watch for an hour and DS is bored ridgid

I asked if my almost 5 year old DS ( 5 in sept) could go, they said no, due to H&S, insurance etc etc.. Ok fair enough..

Now I see half his nursery class going to the lessons, in the beginners group, and I know for a fact that at least 4 of them are not age 5. One boy has only just turned 4. So I ask a mum what the score was, and she says "well ok he's not 5 til dec, but nobody asked me and Im just chancing it ha ha"

So what would you do? He loves swimming and I feel a bit mean making him sit poolside colouring, when he loves swimming, his sister and some of his friends are going in. But the organisers say he's too young.

YWBU to lie. Your child would not be insured if anything happened, and you are teaching him that lying is OK.

Personally, I would alert the teacher that there are several under-5s in the class and suggest that they might want to insist on ID to avoid being on the wrong side of the law. And if they don't act on that, shop them to the council. I am a bit evil though

As long as you know that if he injures himself you won't be able to claim

And as long as there are no 5yr olds being turned away through lack of places, it sounds ok to me.

yanbu, i think the actual age doesn't matter a 4 year old isnt any safer than a 5 year old.

maybe if you can tell the lie so he can't hear you so he doesnt pipe up with im not 5 mummy im 4!

I think a 4 year old child is more likely to come to harm by not being able to swim and being scared in the water, than in a swimming pool surrounded by parents and lifeguards. Take your chances.

It's not just if he injures himself you won't be able to claim - what if he injures someone else? I'd also be mean and go back and query the minimum age, and when they tell you it is strictly over 5s mention innocently that you assumed 4 year olds must be ok as there were loads of 4 year olds in the beginners' group.

Thing is ... this isn't mean. If one of those 4 year olds has an accident or injures another person the pool's insurance is invalidated, which will cause not end of problems and expense (for the tax payer).

Why not chuck your costume on and get in with your other son?

I would actually point out the four year olds to the management. The rule isn't there to be mean to four year olds, it's there for a reason.

paradisechick nice idea, but not possible, its a small pool not open to public, its being used just for these lessons

If it is because of insurance, personally I wouldn't do it and would discreetly inform on the under 5's in the way others have suggested.

Insurance for these types of classes is a serious issue. Worst case scenario - a child in the class has a serious accident due to negligence by the teacher or lifeguard and needs life long care. Insurance won't pay out because under 5's aren't insured, and even if the parents could sue the local authority, they will have serious issues with contributory negligence.

There is a reason these places have insurance. It is important.

It's very frustrating, particularly when others seem to get away with it. Is free swimming permitted during lesson times - could you go in with your other son?

i can't believe so many people do this sort of thing, and happily teach their DC to lie when it suits them better - rules are there for reasons, would you allow your not-quite-old-enough-teenager to drive a car?

what if one of the lifegaurds wasn't old enough and their parent had helped them lie? what about insurance?

but TBH the pool management are being foolish, and should ask for ID

Sorry, cross post re going swimming. Is there another treat you could take for your younger son to keep him occupied - do you own a laptop or something he could watch a dvd on? Or have some special books you could read together?

My mum did exactly this, and I remember it! And I turned out fine. Just do it, ignores the histericals.

just because lots of people do it, get away with it, and nothing bad happens, still doesn't make it a good idea.

same as not bothering with car seats, or leaving a child home alone, just because someone else has been getting away with it for years does not mean you wont be the unlucky one who has a tragedy occur the first time you do it

I would not lie.

I wouldn't want to be the reason their insurance cover is invalidated in case of serious injury. This isn't just one of those spurious elf 'n' safety claims that I would roll my eyes at and ignore.

I wouldn't inform on specific children, but I would tell the organisers that there are under 5s attending and they might want to request proof of age to protect their cover.

YABU to ask. If you are going to do it, just do it

I wouldn't lie either. The rules are out in place for a reason. I wouldn't want to be teaching my child to lie either.