If your under 8 year old can confidently swim 25m…

[needabreak5]

…do you think they should be allowed in the deep end at the local pool? Ours don’t allow it unless during a lesson, but over 8’s they will assess each time they enter the pool and allow if they can swim, even if they are clearly not a very strong swimmer. Shouldn’t it be based on swimming ability rather than age?

I think 8 just seems like such an arbitrary age to loosen the guard. There are 6/7 year olds that can swim well, but plenty of 8/9 year olds who would struggle to swim 25-50m.

That's weird and as you say completely arbitrary - DS has been confident since he was 6 but his best friend now they're nearly 8 still can't swim without armbands. Our local pool just doesn't let children with armbands go into the deep end.

At ours under 8s have to be accompanied but over 8s can go in without an adult. Non swimmers only in the shallow end. I’ve seen them test out weaker swimmers to check they can swim 25m before allowing them in the deep end. Seems to work well, and not age dependant.

DD will be 8 in Jan and she’s been confident in the deep end (2m deep) for about 8/9 months now and been swimming 25m with ease. The lifeguards have never said anything to her or me about it (although a lot of the lifeguards know her from swimming lessons). Our pool also has diving boards which doesn’t have age restrictions it down to swimming ability.

It does seem strange that your pool do it on age.

All age restrictions are arbitrary aren't they?

8 seems fine to me, I don't think it's realistic to base it on swimming ability alone because then the lifeguards would have to test every swimmer. There has to be a cut off somewhere. Presumably they're not asking for birth certificates, so it's just 'kids who look very young' aren't allowed in?

I ask as my 6 year old DS was allowed in the deep end every weekend (lifeguard watches the kids do 2 lengths then give a wristband), but 2 weeks ago they said “he looks a bit small for 8 years old…i responded oh he’s 6” and now he’s disappointed he can no longer swim in deep end due to age. apparently it’s always been over 8s only and they assumed he was 8 as there is a sign on the wall which we surely read!

The kids who were in the deep end today are in the swimming lesson stage ‘bronze’ which is basically swim 25m. There are lots of under 8s including DS in next stage ‘silver’ and it just doesn’t make sense that they can’t practice outside of the lesson, when the 8 yo bronze group can

Isn’t it more to do with average height than 8 year olds being better swimmers than all 7 year olds?

Same as us. Many a time the lifeguards have made DS2 (9) swim 25m after observing him in the deep end. He's perfectly capable, he just can't be bothered and prefers to hang onto the side, a pool noodle or doggy paddle 🤦‍♀️

He's always let back into the deep end after doing a 25m front crawl without hesitation. And then goes straight back to his noodle or doggy paddle.

But how do you propose they police such a thing? Lifeguards do not have the time (or the training really) to make such decisions. Imagine if the 19 year old on duty gave the go ahead for a 6 year old who then drowned??
The cut off is a sensible point above which it is more likely than not that the child can swim a reasonable distance independently.
In our pool kids under 8 have to be supervised 1:2 by an adult unless in a lesson.

But how do you propose they police such a thing?

the same as they do for all the over 8s (up to about 10/11) they assess them swimming 50m as they enter the deep end and if okay they get a wristband so the other lifeguards don’t need to check.

When I was a kid I could swim a mile at 7 years old.

It’s probably arbitrary to an extent but I imagine set as a minimum by all insurance providers - actuaries would have looked into stats etc

I grew up in Germany...we have nationalised standard swimming tests, and I got a wee badge to be sewn onto my swimsuit at each level. So once you passed your "seahorse" (the first level, requiring among other things 25m unaided swim; I must've been about 5 when I got that), any pool attendant would be able to see what level you'd passed. Seemed, and still seems, a very sensible system to me. I don't recall ever having my "swimming pass" checked from the time I was allowed go to the public pool by myself (I was at most 7 by the time I was allowed to ditch my older sister and go on my own). I was in no way precocious; my group weren't "club" swimmers (aiming at competition), but just ordinary kids, and we were all doing the exams at pretty much the same time. Those swimsuit badges were a really useful thing, I think!

That seems like a really weird system!

Our local pool just has a sign saying "no non swimmers beyond this point", I went today and there were lots of kids in the deep end.

Same at our local pool & I agree ridiculous.
Dd2 is delighted that now she has turned 8 she can do it.
There might be a rule/insurance thing with supervisory numbers/ages or something somewhere coz when they had holiday club there you were only allowed to swim at all if you were 8.

That's ridiculous. I'd have found another pool locally if that had been the rule round here, my two could swim 300m+ in three different strokes by age 6 and would not have been impressed with being constrained like that. It should be by ability, not age.

It might be more to do with 8 year olds being (on average) a bit more sensible and more likely to do what they are told compared with 6 year olds?

Allowed
With adult
In the water
At ours

Sorry, no idea what happened to formatting!

Our pool requires kids to do a test to show they can do 25m. My eldest ds could pass the test at 6, my youngest can't at 7. I think an age rule seems pointless - surely what matters is your ability to swim

I swam 400m for the first time on my 6th birthday.

The lifeguard kept having people coming up to her saying “there is a really tiny girl on her own in the deep end - is she ok?”

And the lifeguard would say “she’s fine - she’s mine.” 😊

At our local pool under 8s and non swimmers must be supervised at all times by an adult. And only swimmers can go in the deep end. So once at 6 my kids (who could swim) could go in the deep end (or shallow end)with me. Now they are both over 8 they can go in the deep end with or without me. But an 8 year old non swimmer would have to be in the shallow end and supervised.

That seems a sensible rule to me!

Are you implying an 8 year old should be in the deep end without an adult in the water with them? Different if an adult is in the pool but if a lifeguard thinks they are out of their depth and struggling, they are well in their rights to tell them to move to shallower water. I'm a swimming teacher you'd be surprised how many kids aren't strong swimmers or who can't swim. My I year is a club swimmer will swim mutilple lengths but I'm still expected to be in the water with her.

9*