To think that for nearly £60 a month, we should be warm in the pool?

[Freezinginthepool]

My 20 month old goes to swimming lessons and has since being a little baby (once lockdown was over.) We pay nearly £60 a month for one half hour lesson a week. So really not cheap!

But AIBU to expect a reasonably warm pool for this? This week was shockingly cold.

Yeah, she has a wetsuit thanks - it helps but it’s still really cold. I think I really noticed it today because it was quite nippy outside as well! In the heatwave it was quite nice of course!

We have the opposite issue where our lessons are cancelled all the time because the pools are too cold. Probably twice in a six week period they cancel swimming with approx half an hours notice because the pool is too cold.

When mine were little I made sure they went to lessons in hydrotherapy pool as they are warner. Now one of my sons is a competitive swimmer and they prefer the pool freezing.

If the pool is generally used for adult exercise then it's normal that it would be cold (ish) - they usually are as that is standard.

If there is a separate leisure/splash pool those are usually heated to a warmer temperature. But I would expect little babies to need thermal swimwear in a pool TBH.

My DS has used 3 different pools with puddleducks (as he moved up through the age groups) and all 3 have been heated pools.

The indoor pool here is colder than the outdoor one. They are 27 and 29 degrees

Its been annoying me too. We pay for a david lloyd membership and lately the pool has been cold. DD is 3 and goes in in a wetsuit and still can only last 20 minutes. Children can't regulate body temperature as well as adults, and children learning to swim aren't moving enough to stay warm in a cold pool, its actually a safety thing that the water needs to be warm enough.

If the price has to rise it has to rise, but lessons in water that's too cold are no good to anyone.

That is expensive!

Agreed. My DC both wear wetsuits for their lessons or their teeth chatter. They used to be warmer.

There’s nothing enjoyable about swimming in cold pools (imo obviously, I’m sure there are people who love it) so you have my sympathies. I suspect it’s a cost cutting measure, but definitely mention it to the teacher - £60 is a lot of money.

YANBU - I hate a cold pool! There’s two pools in my city and they’re both freezing so I never go. Just found a pool 25 min drive away that’s a much warmer 29-30 degrees, so will be going there in future.

I’d hunt for somewhere different if I were you, assuming it’s not a one off heating breakdown or something.

If there is only one pool for all swimming then it will be set at a temperature that is good for laps and will be too cold for toddler lessons. You need to find another place that has a shallow pool (cheaper to heat) specifically for little children.

Thanks. I’ll have a (nice!) grumble about it on Monday. As people have said, the children aren’t moving as much and so must be chilly.

We did baby swimming in a tiny hotel pool then in a pool in a special needs school - both were really warm. But a “normal” pool able-bodied people use to swim lengths will always be much cooler.

I get that, but then Puddleducks or equivalent should really be exploring suitable options, or insisting on a minimum temperature. I am sure the pools they use make a tidy profit from them being used for lessons!

decathlon sell neoprene wetsuits for small ones, will help keep your child warm.

Cancel the lessons and start when she's 4/5 they learn so little before then it's really just a massive con for middle class parents

People always complain our the kids po where we are is too cold. It's fine. My babies have always been fine. How long is the lesson? If it's only 30 minutes I can't imagine it's that bad.

I think puddle ducks have the pool temperatures on the info page for each pool. We started off at one in the local primary school which was tiny and really shallow but lovely and warm, now we are at a private pool in someone’s home and it is a lot cooler (not teeth chattering cold though) however they do check it and will occasionally cancel if it is too cold. We are lucky as our classes are quite a big franchise so there’s usually another class we can go to at the same time if they do that. The gym pools are the worst in my opinion but like someone said, they’ve got to be suitable for people to exercise in.

Generally the baby swimming pools will be normal. The one we used had the odd week when it felt a bit cold and the teacher would complain to head office. But, some children do feel it more. My youngest is still quite sensitive to the cold now at 31/2 but at 1/2 would often have blue lips. If she got very cold the teacher would say she had to come out early and get in a warm shower as she wouldn’t push it. We also upgraded to wetsuit plus a body warmer in the winter, had a hot water bottle in the bag and made sure to put a hat on quickly. My eldest has never felt the cold as much as her sister.

noticed on wednesday our pool was cooler than normal. I think because the weather had turned cooler.

@tonightelmowillrise OP has came on a public forum to have a moan and ask people's opinions, isn't that the whole point of a forum?

Op, I'm with you. I enjoy swimming but the pools are constantly freezing. I did ask the staff one time if they would turn the temp up and I got pointed to the sign on the wall which said 28 degrees?! .. the coldness of the water is exactly why I don't go swimming very often.

Btw.. thats really expensive for swimming lessons. I would be looking around to see if you can get them cheaper. My dd's is £20 per month for a half hour swim lesson once per week.

“Cancel the lessons and start when she's 4/5 they learn so little before then it's really just a massive con for middle class parents.”

I also really disagree with this. Both of mine benefited massively from waterbabies. The lesson quality was extremely high from our teacher and set them up brilliantly for leisure centre lessons. It was expensive but I have no regrets at all.

When we were paying for puddleducks we were forever having lessons cancelled because the pool wasn’t warm enough when the instructors tested it before starting lessons. Our instructor had wet suits there to use for tiny babies - could you use those?

Does a child that young really need swimming lessons? As opposed to just going for a splash around?