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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Two grown men in the toddler pool

120 replies

GuybrushThreepwoodMP · 05/04/2014 18:55

I'm not sure how I should have behaved. Our local pool has a completely separate toddler pool in addition to a shallow training pool and a full large adult pool. I took 18 month old dd yesterday and we got in the toddler pool which has toys and small platforms etc. Initially we were the only ones in there and then two men in their forties got in and just seemed to be relaxing on the steps and chatting. Being quite reserved, I quietly asked a member of staff why there were adults in the baby pool without children. He responded that he wasn't sure; his colleague let them in and he thought one of then might have a disability.

I'm not sure how I should have felt about this but I felt uncomfortable. I didn't feel able to confront them myself so we just left.

I think maybe the staff should be absolutely sure if who they let in the toddler pool and why. The men certainly did not have any physical needs so could have gone in the training pool which is also warm and shallow if necessary. I'm not sure if this is terribly un-pc though...

OP posts:

tripecity · 05/04/2014 19:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

GuybrushThreepwoodMP · 05/04/2014 19:05

It is very clearly signed and absolutely full of kids toys and floats. It's a pretty small baby pool. Anyways, fair play. Will try and rationalise better in future.
In my defence, I didn't react particularly strongly but was looking for guidance on how I should have reacted. Thanks for the guidance.

OP posts:

wimblehorse · 05/04/2014 19:05

Yabu. Yes it's a pool suitable for toddlers but it's a public pool. Had it been crowded/they were behaving innapropriately (jumping/splashing etc) then it would be reasonable to ask staff to remove them.
If they were the only other people using it & were just chilling out then not sure what the problem is...

FloozeyLoozey · 05/04/2014 19:06

Clearly predatory paedophiles.

WhatsTheWordHummingbird · 05/04/2014 19:06

Well, at our Leisure Centre its called the Small Pool, not exclusive to children. Its lovely and warm and quite often adults without kids come in and relax on the steps as it is much nicer than the big cold pool.

I dont understand why you think they shouldnt have been allowed there?

pigsDOfly · 05/04/2014 19:07

The OP didn't actually say she thought the men had any interest in her or her children jumpingjack. She was in a pool set aside for toddlers and she was on her own in the pool with her child and it made her feel uncomfortable.

Why would two grown men feel the need to sit in a pool filled with toys and child sized seating?

rosy71 · 05/04/2014 19:08

Perhaps they were waiting for their wives and children to emerge from the changing rooms.

Hassled · 05/04/2014 19:08

It's a well-known fact that 90% of the "water" in toddler pools is urine, and so I reckon the random men were in fact Wee Perves. They get their kicks from sitting in wee. Only possible explanation.

hazeyjane · 05/04/2014 19:08

Yabu.

Original poster

GuybrushThreepwoodMP · 05/04/2014 19:10

OP posts:

hazeyjane · 05/04/2014 19:11

Sorry did the op not say that she quietly asked a member of staff why there were adults in the baby pool without children. He responded that he wasn't sure; his colleague let them in and he thought one of then might have a disability.

If that is the case then it is perfectly possible that one of the men was learning disabled and the other man a carer, and that he enjoyed band felt more comfortable in the smaller pool.

I can't see why it is a problem at all.

MoreSkyThanWeNeed · 05/04/2014 19:11

They did start breastfeeding, did they? That never goes down well at a swimming pool.

Actually, I may have wondered why they were there for a moment, but it certainly wouldn't have bothered me.

ThatBloodyWoman · 05/04/2014 19:12

Sometimes I feel so bloody sorry for men.

ThatBloodyWoman · 05/04/2014 19:13

Fair enough tho' OP.

All respect to someone who posts in aibu, and will accept when they are!

Noseypoke · 05/04/2014 19:13

The toddler pools are always warm, maybe they just wanted to sit in a warm pool. Some council pools can be totally Baltic.

WreckTangle · 05/04/2014 19:14

Ok maybe it's a wee but strange that they are sat there surrounded by baby toys (apparently) but seriously, you asked a member of staff why they were there? Weird.

ICanSeeTheSun · 05/04/2014 19:15

Perhaps it was the mans mental age, rather than actual age was the reason they was there.

candycoatedwaterdrops · 05/04/2014 19:17

I reckon they were chilling because it's warm. YABU to think anything of it.

Boris13 · 05/04/2014 19:21

I think the OP is trying to say which is true ; They should of been in the shallow training pool rather than the toddler pool....

Cigarettesandsmirnoff · 05/04/2014 19:22

It pisses me off at work , I'm a -swimming teacher.

we have THREE pools, one for lane swimming , one for general dicking about and one shallow baby pool with steps - by the way baby pool is a lot warmer than the other two.

You can bet your bottom dollar some dickheads will come and relax, stretch out, lounge across the fucking steps while baby's , toddlers and mums OR dads are trying to play on them with toys and floats.

I don't think they are peeeedoes although I do think some are perves

It's not a fucking spa, it's a baby pool. That's why there are baby toys floating. Go swim, relax in the big boys pool.

I do tell them to move the fuck on away.

I have told adult ladies who thought it was a spa too.

Coldlightofday · 05/04/2014 19:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Cigarettesandsmirnoff · 05/04/2014 19:26

The baby/toddler pools are not full of wee!

wrapsuperstar · 05/04/2014 19:32

I agree with Cigarettes. We have a swimming pool with various sections including a very shallow and warm toddler pool, almost exclusively for parent and child lessons but also freed up for the odd 'fun swim' for under 12s during school holidays and the like. I don't want to be tripping over adults 'relaxing' or teens socialising when taking my 2 year old for a lesson -- it is expressly NOT what that pool is for. Just as I would expect to be moved on if I took my toddler into the area designated for lane swimming. Just common sense really, nothing to do with peeeeeedo panic and I wouldn't be caught dead reading the Daily Mail.

ThatBloodyWoman · 05/04/2014 19:33

Cigarettes I worked in pools for years.

It's why I prefer open water swimming......

Cigarettesandsmirnoff · 05/04/2014 19:43

All pools should be chlorinated to a safe level. The pools are not stagnant.

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