Not to heat the paddling pool?

[justwhiisitwhosvotingtory]

I've just been told off again for expecting a friends DCs to play in an 'unheated' paddling pool. It was 28 degrees and I filled the pool with cold water early in the day so it could warm up in the sun all day for when the DCs came home from school.

Apparently I should have filled the pool with warm water or used lots of kettles to top it up. FWIW none of the DCs complained and the only ones who got a bit chilly were mine (much skinnier!). The only complaints were when we asked them to get out... but this is the second friend who has made a fuss...

I'm a Scot and both of the friends are from families from much warmer places so wondering if AIBU?

What do you do?

I just fill with cold too. If I had to faff with kettles then I suspect I'd never fill it.

My ds is very skinny and gets cold quickly (even when it's 29°!) So he now wears a wetsuit in the pool. Problem solved.

How do these children cope in the British sea? Cold water is good for them. It would never have occurred to me to warm the water in a paddling pool.

From London. I fill the kids paddling pool with cold water...heated paddling pools? Honestly?

We fill ours from the hose running off the outdoor tap. Thats how we have always done it even when i was little. Im from scottish borders. Everyone i know round here does it that way too xx

I do it for little 'uns but for kids 5+ then probably not.

Didn't know this was a thing! My dd and friends didn't batt an eye lid yesterday they loved it! Said it cooled them down. We have plenty of towels to wrap in if cold and a play tent so they were in and out of them.

Every day is a learning day on mumsnet. I have never heard of hearing a paddling pool. Even if you put warm water in at the start, surely it does cold really quickly anyway?

Mind you, I was raised paddling on the beach on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, and that water is cold, so maybe my tolerance for cold water on my feet is high.

Cold water here, straight from the hose.

We have an outdoor pool in my local town. It's huge and in places deep. No heating whatsoever. When it opens in May you can hear new arrivals talking to locals "is it nice? Not too cold?" To be answered with "lovely yes...it's okay" while trying to keep a straight face. Nobody should be deprived of that first Arctic dip. The temperature in that pool is the stuff of legend. (Too big to ever really heat in the sun see).

I've never even heard of heating a paddling pool before.

Agree with previous comments that the whole point is cold water on a hot day, and if it's cold enough outside that it needs heating, it's too cold for it to be a paddling pool day.

Kids were swimming in the sea on Mull (west coast of Scotland) yesterday in about 16 degrees. They are still thriving.

Even though I heat the paddling pool, me and the kids do also swim in the sea/rivers, which I love doing.

You can't heat them, so making yourself get in the freezing water is part of the fun. Whereas you can heat a paddling pool :)

I always fill it from the hot tap!

Most paddling pools are only going to use a bath, maybe two worth of hot water, its not like I'm filling an Olympic size pool.

And everyone is much happier, and stay in it much longer than if it was cold.

No way

Ours is getting filled with cold water was we speak. I have never ever added hot water to a paddling pool. The kids have always been happy enough & the sun warns the water before long anyway.

I usually add a kettle at the end just to take the edge off, but that's it. Kids are hardy and love splashing in cold water (the ponies on the other hand get endless kettles when they need to be washed)

Well I never! A question I never ever expected I might hear in my life! Hearing a paddling pool? Really? My parents certainly never heated it for us (Christ, they were so tight we were lucky we even had the paddling pool out with cold water as we were in a water meter - there's no way they would have had the cost of heating it too, (and let's just say they weren't exactly skint)! We on the other hand are skint and therefore far too tight to even consider the idea of hearing it. I did notice a lot of justification above that people heated it but only for a baby/very young toddler..... I think I must be a bad mother then because I just say mine as babies into the freezing cold paddling pool! They never seemed to mind!

We have found the following warms it a little - unravel the hose pipe and leave it lying on the grass in the sun (ideally run it slightly first so there is water in the pipe), after a while, you will find the water in the pipe is very warm, and for a little while after it runs warm. We also do the leaving it in the sun all day to heat when possible!

Given that most of the time when it's warm enough firvthe paddling pool, it's warm enough for the water guns, and they're filled with water from the outdoor tap anyway!

I can't believe your friend's not only believe paddling pools should be heated, but also told you off for not hearing it! I think this says a lot more about them than it does about you.

Please excuse the millions of autocorrect/fat fingers/falling asleep whilst typing spelling errors above!

Clearly doesn't need heating here (NE England) - this has been sat outside for a few days and is mainly rainwater & grass, DS wasn't happy with just playing on the lawn and crawled straight in. He's now refusing to get out, I think he likes it!

Glad to know I am not alone - although I am liking the idea about the bin bags! DH has taken it a step further and has filled several bin bags with water while they heat up. It has the added benefit of stopping DS jumping in before we are ready!

we have an adaptor which we can run a hose from our taps inside. Its all hot water here straight from the tap, down the hose and into the pool. Soft as Shite!