To think sister brought this on herself encouraging bullying?

[SquishyBones]

Niece goes to swimming lessons with her friend. The classes are split by ability so you have the dolphins, guppies, tadpoles, plankton and bacteria etc

Obviously swimming lessons were called off when lockdown started but the friends have been talking about them starting up again. Apparently sister received a message off friends mum saying that niece had been bullying her DD over WhatsApp saying she will be back in bacteria as she was always nearly drowning in guppies. This has put the friend off going back as she’s worried about being stuck with the babies and toddlers.

Sister has “told off” niece but I’ve heard her encouraging this shit in the past!! Saying that the girl shouldn’t be in guppies as it’s too advanced for her and she’ll never get into Dolphins like Niece. Obviously niece has picked up on this. I told sister that I didn’t think it was fair for Niece to be told off when she’s only repeating what she herself has been saying! Sister now has a face in with me so next it will be all over the family that I’ve “started on her”. WIBU?? Should I just not have said anything?? This isn’t the only thing she encourages this attitude to either btw

So if she starts on you in the family group, then you can explain exactly what you did here - that by happily encouraging this kind of behaviour she can't be surprised when it backfires.

At DN's school reading groups are Biff, Chip, Kipper, and, poor thick kids, Floppy!

Sad to read this, swimming lessons were not like this in the olden days, You just had to get in the pool, whatever age,and try and swim,or drown ha ha,

Why isn’t there a coronavirus class OP? Is it because the virus can’t swim?

Your DSis is BU. Kids pick up on competitive oneupman shit like that.

Is there a class called pond-life
who ever came up with this appalling way of classifying children learning to swim is either a pond life person or a shark person
you'd have to be unintelligent or predatory to want to set up such a starkly hierarchical system which encourages children to look down on those in the lower groups:(

Niece goes to swimming lessons with her friend. The classes are split by ability so you have the dolphins, guppies, tadpoles, plankton and bacteria etc

Just on the first page but that has to be one of the most batshit things I've read in ages

Oh wow, come on now, there isn’t really a bacteria and plankton class

Ah man, made me day that did

Dolphins sharks tadpoles I think I know the club, very competive from a young age getting through the aquatic groups and if I'm right or it's similar to the one I know it brings out the worst in parents whose children go.
Hideous but she won't be the only parent saying that. It's a food chain

@Didkdt very common for swimming clubs to use these names. They have at my local pool for 30 years at least.

@Didkdt well obviously its a food chain with bacteria on the bottom

Glad to see I'm not the only one to think that Plankton and Bacteria are both unfortunate but giggle inducing.

Bloodu weird names for swimming groups makes me feel ick.

who ever came up with this appalling way of classifying children learning to swim is either a pond life person or a shark person you'd have to be unintelligent or predatory to want to set up such a starkly hierarchical system which encourages children to look down on those in the lower groups

If you read OP's update you'll see it's a joke, so you can stand down.

Agree with everyone here. Also, why is your sister bothered about how well or badly another child swims? I’m too busy watching my own kid to notice anyone else’s much. And even if you did, why so nasty about another child? Why repeat this nastiness to her child? So weird.

If I ever get the chance to influence the naming of swimming groups I am going to lobby so hard for bacteria and plankton to be included

Mashed: totally understand this re not actually being a squid. Have spent quite a bit of baby-sitting time trying to gently convince a child with autism that that he will indeed grow bigger, but not actually into an elephant. Lots of footage of baby elephants with their mothers has done the trick. I think.

Tell her not to worry, I was in the "pond scum" group at her age and soon progressed to being a killer whale- just takes dedication is all!

Apparently sister received a message off friends mum saying that niece had been bullying her DD over WhatsApp saying she will be back in bacteria as she was always nearly drowning in guppies.

OP thank you so much, I have laughed so much over these categories I have scared my dog, who has now run away from me!

I genuinely wish you, sister, niece, friend, friend's mum all the best!

oh ffs, pull your swimming costumes out of your arsecheeks PPs. Do you genuinely, honestly, truly believe a swimming group would refer to starter swimmers as 'bacteria'? Collective sense of humour failure there, and you're quite anoyingly derailing the thread.

OP, that was quite unkind of your niece - and obviously something she'd picked up on from someone. Possibly from your sister, but maybe also from others in her swimming/friendship group? My feeling is that it doesn't take much to give a child an inflated sense of their own prowess, and if that isn't dealt with sensibly in a conversation along the lines of 'well, you can swim better than bacteria now, but don't forget you had to learn how to swim too', it does spill over into other areas too.

I know I'm missing the point of the OP's post but omg : literally just about pissed myself laughing at the plankton and bacteria classes. Really? Bacteria???

Ahhh maaan no plankton or bacteria groups? Spoilsports. 😂

I think this is really unfair. Many bacteria are excellent swimmers.

They have a group called bacteria??

Frankly the swimming group is at fault for coming up with stupid classifications like Bacteria. Why don’t they just tar and feather the poor kids and chuck ‘em in the deep end while there at it.

Bacteria. Have they ever met children before?

Thank you OP, I'm enjoying this thread way too much. Bacteria and plankton {grin]

Seriously though - in your place I would remain calm and detached, and just tell anyone who tries to get involved (aka 'shitstir') that you feel sorry for your niece, being told off for the very behaviour that has been modelled to her by adults.