Is jumping the same as diving?

[Hamseven]

We are posting members at a country club.
Sounds posher than it is. We have two kids that are also members. Age 9 and 11. The only things the kids can do is use the pool between 11&4 and the occasional kids sports class on a weekend.
I took them swimming today. It was full of old people and one other family. My son went to climb out the pool and before he had even got out a man in the lane next to him told him 'no diving. There's a sign.'. my son want going to drive but was going to jump in but he got back in and told me. Some time later he got out and jumped in. The man told him off and said no jumping.
I went over and politely pointed out the sign was no diving due to the depth ofthe pool. He was adamant that diving in jumping with the same. Explain that it was a school holidays. It was during family time and at the children paid their membership and if they wanted to jump they would. They already jumped in a couple of times and if they say continue to do it and we're annoying people I would have stopped them. Was I being unreasonable?

I know that I’m missing the point, but I truly wish people who use the term ”antisocial ” really knew what it means .

• diving and jumping are not the same
• old man‘s needs or wants no more a priority than your child‘s
• jumping within that part of the pool is obviously not prohibited.

But the same is true for the elderly people, it's very 'me me me' of them to prevent kids from playing in the family area during their permitted time. I think it's rude to dictate how other people should use a space based on your own preferences. If the elderly people wanted to swim in peace they should book in the swim lanes or at a time where children won't be permitted.

Different things, but jumping and splashing other people is poor form.

Yes, but this doesn't have to mean curbing the fun of the children while adults get to do what they like.

If there's a family area and it's a family swim session why can the children not play and the adults swim their lengths in the larger area? If the children then want to swim widths or practice their strokes they can head over.

Diving is banned because at an insufficient depth, someone could break their neck.

Jumping in is usually allowed (and, in fact, encouraged in most swimming lessons) because it is harmless fun and teaches valuable water skills.

Of course they aren't the same thing.

And if the pool has family sessions between 11-4 and it's the school holidays I'd expect there to be some jumping in!!!

If you want a head dry breastroke swim then you don't go these times when the kids are off school 🤦‍♀️

"and the adults swim their lengths in the larger area"
For some reason, I do not imagine many adults swimming lengths in a pool full of children, jumping or not. 😄

Those that do want to, will use it at other times.

Most adults at those times will be playing with their own children, or swimming leisurely (like children can too).
There are lots of things that can be done in a pool, for both adults and children, without involving jumping or diving.

Jumping in the pool is part of the Swim England program, as is climbing out the pool without using the ladders, collecting sinkies from the bottom of the pool, floating, gliding etc etc. Learning to swim isn't all about practicing breaststroke or back crawl. Some of it is even fun and splashy!

Our pool has lane swim times, adult swim, female only swim and family swim.

My dc jump in from the side when it's family swim. They check the area they will land in is clear. Even at family swim there are lanes for slow, medium and fast.

Children get to enjoy their swim time too. Practising jumping in and climbing out is part of their swim badges - which we pay a fortune for them to earn in lessons at the same pool.

If people really have such a problem with children jumping in and playing then they should use one of the many sessions children are not permitted at.

Unreasonable, antisocial, entitled and selfish. Just quibbling because someone dared to say "no" to you.

I think if it was during a time specifically for families then any adults should expect some annoyance from kids.

On the other hand, saying things like you've paid for your membership so your kids should be able to do what they want and screw everyone else is extremely entitled behaviour and everything that's wrong with today's society imo

Your child was jumping in the family area, away from those doing lane swimming and not affecting them at all. Nothing unreasonable about that. Jumping in is many children's favourite part of swimming and as long as they are doing it safely without disturbing others, they should be allowed to continue.

If it is such a big issue for the man, he can choose to swim at times where children are not permitted or find an alternative pool where just adults are allowed

No diving tends to be a safety based rule. Jumping can be done more safely into shallower water.

Jumping is more of a social issue.

At many pools, adult/ lane sessions have a better provision than general sessions avaliable to children. Very sensitive individuals are better heading to these sessions (personally I like open water swimming which also eliminates splashy-man-front-crawl tidal waves)
Some swimmers are just curmudgeonly- I had issues with some at adult lessons when I was a teenager and they were just peeved that I progressed to doing lengths and moaned that I swam up and down the pool. The instructors did point out that their suggestion that I swim along the edge didn't work when they spent the majority of the time standing at the sides chatting.
At the general sessions I take my children to, I do make them look around before jumping and diving. It's a big pool and there's plenty of space avaliable.

At a smaller pool with just general opening, it is more awkward as there isn't the different levels of provision for different groups/ uses. TBH as a swimmer, I try avoid them as they're a bit messy for trying to focus on lengths and as a parent, they're hard going to pitch supervising children at the right level. Children shouldn't be displacing water over swimmers, but swimmers can't expect to remain totally unsplashed either.

I love swimming, but the worst thing about it is having to share a pool 😁

I agree diving is very different from jumping - no diving is for the safety of the divers, where it's not deep enough to go head first.

OP has said kids are only allowed in 11-4, and there are separate lanes for 'serious' swimming, so I can't see a problem with kids jumping? So long as they check first, wait for the right moment, etc., I can't see the problem?

This

Genuine question - what do you think "family time" should entail?

I don't have kids, but if I went to a swimming pool session labelled as family time, I'd expect the pool to be full of kids having fun, jumping in and playing with inflatables!

I think you were right about what the no diving sign means - jumping and diving are not the same, and the no diving thing is a safety rule for depth reasons.

I can sort of see why the man in the pool maybe thought it meant jumping as well, even though he was wrong - I suppose the easiest thing to do to resolve it would have been a quick check with the lifeguard/attendant to confirm that it was OK for your son to jump. I would have thought that, assuming there is an attendant there, that they would have put a stop to the jumping if it was a problem.

In some cases I think having kids jumping into the pool could certainly be antisocial and disruptive, but as your son was in the designated family lanes and there are other lanes for adults who just want to swim lengths, it doesn't sound like the jumping was causing any problem to 'serious' swimmers. I'm someone who often finds kids quite annoying, but even I wouldn't be pissed off by a kid jumping in a pool, in the family lanes, in the school holidays!

I suspect that the man had mistakenly assumed that a country club type environment would be quiet and adult-orientated, but if there are family memberships and kids are allowed in the pool, then that's really his problem I think.

“Family time” doesn’t mean using the pool as a playground

Well... I would have kind of thought it did?!

I don't have kids myself, so I don't know, but if there was a time/area designated as family friendly then I wouldn't expect the kids to be just swimming up and down or practising for their next swimming badge. I would assume there would be a lot of jumping in, splashing, doing dolphin impressions, jumping on their parents and flapping ineptly about with pool noodles and inflatable rings.

Nonsense, if its a family session
As long as they are not jumping in the lane swim , its perfectly normal to play jumping. I suspect the lifeguard would say something if they were breaking rules.
The no diving is because of safety reasons ie pool is too shallow to dive in as there is sanger of breaking neck or banging head.

YABU and very selfish as well as teaching your children bad manners.

In this case, diving and jumping are pretty much the same.In fact, I’d say jumping is worse. They are both dangerous, and intrusive on other swimmers’ use and enjoyment of the pool.

Children can get quite unruly and unobservant of other pool users, and splash, jump in on top of people and generally behave badly.

You were rude and selfish to speak to other pool users in the way you did.

I can't stand it when kids are jumping into the pool.... but of course it's okay and unless the pool has a "no jumping or diving" policy, it's completely fine for children to jump into the pool, in the family swim area.

Admittedly, our gym pool is big enough that you can keep away from the sides to avoid being splashed, but even if it isn't, irritating though it is, jumping is a) super fun for kids and b) a very important part of their water safety learning.

A 'No diving' notice is always due to the depth of water and the fact it isn't safe to dive in.
That is completely different from jumping in. So the man was wrong.

I also think he is wrong about the not letting kids jump in the water. That is the fun in going swimming at that age. Most pools - incl this one it seems - have times when there is lane swimming, and usually times for other activities (water aerobics etc) and times when people are allowed to go and enjoy using the pool for fun. If there are only particular hours where dc are allowed in, I don't think it is too difficult to infer those times will have children jumping in and probably creating splashes. If you want to avoid that, then avoid those times.

Ultimately though - I would have double checked with the life-guard.

Possibly the curmudgeon hadn't realised that his swim session was during family time. Most weeks there is no one there but people ploughing up and down (described brilliantly by Victoria Wood as hairy torpedoes).

Of course it could just be he is a curmudgeon. I swim fairly regularly and I have noticed that some of the regulars do like to complain! I think they treat it as part of the activity:

• swim one mile,
• drink flask of tea
• complain about music/water temperature/other swimmers not following unofficial rules

Haven't had a proper swim if they can't tick off all of the above!

Playing with inflatables, families swimming together, parents teaching children to swim, some splashing. All fine. But it’s still a club swimming pool and not a water park. Jumping into a pool which OP described as full is disproportionately disruptive to other swimmers.

I don’t have DC either and a big group of childfree adult friends and I pitched up at Alton Towers Water Park earlier this year. We had a fucking blast. But from the reactions of quite a few of the parents there with their children, it was pretty clear they didn’t think the Water Park, despite not having an age limit, was for big adult groups larking about and that we should go to a “normal” swimming pool. At the time, I was prepared to acknowledge that perhaps they were right, but threads like this make me reconsider.

Oh this thread is once again demonstrating that the last bastion of prejudice on MN is age.

Old people are just the worst, aren't they @Hamseven Let's hope they drown - daring to insist that they can enjoy the swim in the pool of their club.

But there are surely different sessions for proper lane swimming and this one was family time? I would expect lots of little kids jumping in and splashing about at family time.