Water Babies

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I took my almost-three year old swimming to a Water Babies class the other day. On arrival I was told that my toilet-trained daughter had to wear a nappy to go swimming. Of course she absolutely kicked off and refused, so we dressed and left.

Initially I was told to cancel the £180 series of lessons would cost me a £18 one off session fee (‘for the session I attended’) and a £30 cancellation charge. The cancellation was eventually waived after I escalated my complaint.

My AIBU is: AIBU to expect my toilet-trained daughter to not have to wear a nappy when swimming? No other swimming pool or swimming organisation expects a toilet-trained child to wear a nappy and regress in this manner.

FYI to parents who didn’t know - Water Babies expect your kids to regress! Their policy is that children have to wear a swim nappy until the age of 4 1/2! Then a pair of those swim pants thereafter! So that’s a child of Reception age!

I suppose the issue from a business POV is the cost if they have to stop lessons while sorting out after an accident.

Yes of course, but anyone could have an accident, adult or child, and no other pool or group have this demand (as far as I’ve ever seen). For example Centre Parcs, local pools, Turtle Tots etc etc

It prevents them from having huge losses if they have to drain the pool if there's a poo accident.
Water babies round here are also in warm hydrotherapy type pools, so maybe that complicates things. If the pool had to be drained, cleaned and refilled on a Sunday, it might not be ready for the school kids.
Also they can't have one rule for one, and one for another. Another child night not be as reliably trained.
Seeing as she's 3.5, can you find a regular swim class where she won't have to wear a swim nappy?
Water babies is ridiculously expensive.

I can see why they do it tbh. Happy Nappy do swimming costumes with the nappy bit sort of inbuilt so they're not discernible as nappies or a separate nappy.

I think they should make it clear when you’re booking it as I wouldn’t want to put my DD back into a nappy.

Why they can’t they have one rule for one and one for another?

If my three year old is toilet trained and your four year isn’t, then there should be different rules, surely?

Because some people have very odd definitions of toilet trained.

Because accidents so happen.

I presume you wouldn’t be happy if classes where regularly being cancelled because the pool was closed for cleaning?

I suspect they've had issues before with apparently 'toilet-trained' children toileting in the pool. Problem is that it causes massive problems when this happens, especially as the pools are usually private gym pools with customers waiting to come in after. So while it's annoying, I can understand why they do it and I'd just use the Happy Nappy neoprene suits that don't resemble nappies. My DD is toilet trained but would happily wear one of those.

And it took me about 10 seconds to find their nappy policy on their website!

My daughter is potty trained and she goes to water babies. She uses a reusable swim nappy with a happy nappy on top and it has never occurred to me that it could cause a regression. A reusable swim nappy just looks like a pair of pants.

In my experience water babies are not very good at acknowledging different development progression and seem to think that children fit into neat categories. They teach a number not a child and will not hear otherwise.

I did baby swim classes with them and was forced into a group with 12 week olds with my 10 month old. By half way through the course my child was walking and talking and the other babies were young babies. Water babies seemed to think that a toddler is the same as a young baby and wouldn't adjust at all for her development stage or even acknowledge or understand that a walking child is very different to one who isn't yet sitting. They actually at times encouraged me to risk her safety...i ignored them. Quit after the term and not sure I'd go back.

The naply thing doesn't surprise me at all.

This is ridiculous but it isn't a water babies policy. My daughter wasn't asked to wear nappies when she was potty trained before 1.

That's bizarre. Children are all so different in this regard. DS2 is three and has been potty trained and virtually free from accidents since 20 months. I'd be far less worried about him having an accident than his 6 year old brother.

Their nappy policy is pretty clear on their website, and they have waiting lists so I think YABU to kick off over their policy and cancellation fee

But YANBU to want a lesson that fits your approach. I don’t see why you couldn’t tell your child that they have to wear the happy nappy for a swim lesson, I can’t see how it would cause a regression

I would just put a nappy on my 2yo in this situation (honestly I’d put one on my 4yo, it’s no issue) - I think you’re making a huge fuss about nothing.
Even toilet trained child have accidents sometimes.

Your 2 year old is a lot more likely to have an accident than a adult

Get over it. We're with Water Babies and we just get on with it. The swim nappies will hardly make her regress as they're bloody useless! One small wee and everything is wet with water running down their legs!

People have very different ideas of toilet trained though. It's made very clear at booking. Mine has to wear a nappy and a happy nappy because it's better safe than everyone getting shat on.

Swim nappies only hold poo, not wee

Well, clearly it wasn’t made very obvious to me when booking, as otherwise I wouldn’t be complaining about it, would I?!

Their policy on this is extremely clear. It is explicit on their website and it is made explicit when booking.

Just use a reusable swim pant (which looks like a pair of knickers) and then the neoprene layer.

Re the usefulness of swim nappies - my child has never, and wouldn’t, shit in a swimming pool.

Mine wore bambino mio reusable swim nappies and I just called them "trunks" they wore them for years until they outgrew them. Easier to blag with boys than girls though.

The leisure centre wasn't so fussy and the lessons were about a third of the price of Water Babies for similar course content.

Get over it! Very sensible policy wish others did it!!

And, clearly, I would argue it is regressive.

When my daughter has said she needs to use the toilet and we’ve been swimming we get out and go to the toilet. Then get back in the pool.

To regress to shitting and pissing in a nappy blurs that line.

But she doesn't have to shit and piss in it? You just get out and use the toilet as normal?