Children only ever allowed to swim for an hour

[LadyJos]

Most swimming pools in the south east only offer hour slots in which children can swim. Many only 45 minutes. The rest of the day is dedicated to adult lane swimming. This kills me. Kids only just starting to enjoy themselves and have to get them out! AIBU?

YABU - my kids don’t want longer than an hour.
YANBU - I want to have a relaxed time splashing with my kids and they have just as much right as adults to use of a pool.

If anything I’d say kids have most access to the pool due to swimming lessons. Ours is booked out 2-6.15 weekdays plus Saturday morning plus school swimming some mornings. So, I’m not too adverse to specific splash times, lane swimming etc.

Because it doesn't make enough money.

We have the opposite problem - I had to join a private gym where kids are only allowed during a fixed 2 hour slot because all the leisure centres around me allowed kids all the time and they’d play on the lane dividers or go into the lanes and crash into people all the time. I mentioned that it’d be nice to have some adult-only sessions and the staff looked at me like I was mad.

It must be a regional thing.

I think we’ve established adults aren’t short of options for swimming

Op I totally agree . It feels like things for kids are being restricted. A few years back you could make it almost a half a day thing. Older kids /teens would go with their friends for a good few hours or so. As a family with younger kids you could have a long splash around/fun swim etc not have to worry about the time.

It depends on your local pool. We don't have to book slots at our nearest pool. As an adult who wants to lane swim I find that an hour is really about the most people appear to spend there whether families with kids or lane swimmers.

Further away there is a pool with slides and a wave machine and that has slots. It is extremely popular. The slots are limited to an hour but at least more people get to go.

Swimming should be for everyone whether kids or adults or the more vulnerable.

Our local one is the exact opposite. Lane swimming is first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening only. Other than that it’s ‘just swim’ where kids are allowed but nothing happens, or ‘family fun’ where they turn on the wave machine. Session are 60-90 minutes but you could book 2 back to back if you really wanted. You’d have to go to a private gym if you wanted proper grown up swimming though.

Thing is say you could pay your £5-£10 for your all day kids swimming. Pool has a max of 60. So £300-£600 if they all go in and stay all day and don’t leave.

Now you have minimum of two life guards technically four, as when those to go on break they need cover, or if like our main pool they have six. Then you need cleaners for the chaining rooms, pool chemical guy/general fixer, desk staff, cafe staff if they have a cafe.

Dont forget the cost of water in general, electric, cleaning chemicals, pool chemicals, first aid equipment that gets replaced regularly. Then add the original overheads of building, dividers, first aid main stocks such as beds and such, life guard tower stands and such. Plus insurance etc.

Now make it work purely for children/family swim. That’s why as you pointed out op not many exist because they don’t make enough money to run.

Are you relying on a Leisure Centre or similar? Plenty of health clubs have pools that children can swim in for longer, so maybe look at one of those?

You could travel slightly further afield. There are pools in the south east who have more than hour slots. Looking at timetables for tomorrow for example, Littlehampton has an open swim 7.30am-3pm, Guildford has an open swim 8am-6pm, Faversham has a general swim 12pm-4.45pm, Fareham has public swimming 10.30am-5pm. I am sure there are many others that have more than an hour.

I think we’ve established adults aren’t short of options for swimming

But adults bring in the money. It costs more for an adult and they generally go during the week, every week, whereas kids only go at weekends and during the holidays.

Leisure centres are businesses and costs have skyrocketed recently.

At our nearest pool, there is one slot a WEEK that children can go to that isn't on school time. And because its on Sundays (at 12pm, for 90mins) its often cancelled due to lifeguard shortages

Part of the problem however is that everyday after school, and Saturday and Sunday mornings, its children's lessons. Then swim club in the evening. It doesn't actually leave a lot of time.

Do you mean you can only book an hour slot and have to be out or is there only one slot of an hour length during the day dedicated to family swimming?

It’s a lack of funding, too few pools and adults pay more than kids usually. It’s rotten, same round here an hour slot, stripped off like superman and in the pool and out.

I despise hot weather but the only reason I put up with holidays abroad is swimming time.

At most of our leisure pools you can only book for one hour slots as numbers are limited and it's busy and in demand. So it's to make it fairer access and everyone gets a chance.

I know the pools locally close earlier at weeks than they used to - a combination of running costs and staffing I'd imagine.

At our pool theres a term time and holiday time pool schedule that fits in swim clubs, school swim, individual and class swim lessons, aqua classes, family swim and DC pool parties. After COVID yes you get an hour and have to book a timeslot on the app - there's more availability in holidays for kids than termtime.

I haven't encountered this (London), we live close to a pool that has both a leisure pool and a lane pool. I didn't realise how lucky we were!

I agree with you an hour at one set time isn't enough. But I understand what everyone is saying re. adults paying the bills. It's a rubbish situation OP.

I guess it's a result of lack of council funding for local pools?

Depends on your pool. The one near me, adults get 3 hours a day (early morning, lunch and evening). Kids / non lanes the rest of the time.

I don't think lane swimming is the problem. Pools prioritise swimming lessons and swimming clubs in i.e. things that make them consistent money in the popular late afternoon/evening/weekend slots.

I am an adult who works a standard 9-5 day Monday-Friday. My options for swimming if I want to lane swim are 7-8am, 9-10pm or a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon (where half the pool is public swim).

Unlikely a five year old can but some eight year olds could and many 11 year olds.

It's the opposite here, 2 x 2hr 45 mins family/free swimming and 2x 50 minutes lane swim per day. I don't see why as an adult I have to get up early or go late in the day when ive got things to do, it's also outside so families get the best weather

Our local (very boring) pool has two thirds of the pool dedicated to "swim for all" most of the weekend, and one third roped off for "lane swimming". This seems about right, and works well (but we're in the SW and nowhere here is quite as busy as in the SE!). I think slots are officially one hour, but you just turn up and leave whenever you like.

During the week there are fewer "swim for all" sessions, and often the whole pool is booked out for an aquarobics class during the day, or for kids/team swimming lessons in the afternoon.

How much do you pay for your five-year-old? How much do adults pay for their lane swim?

@LadyJos Also I forgot weekdays they close for lessons for kids too. Kids are welcome at lane swimming anyway, most kids over 7 or 8 are fine lane swimming

When I grew up in the late eighties/early nineties all the pools near me ran a coloured bands system and if the pool got too crowded that would announce that (for example - everyone with orange bands needed to get out). They'd get the lifeguards to enforce it as well.

I've never lived anywhere you got unlimited time in the pool.