To go swimming in the sea whilst the kids are in bed?

[Maezzle]

We live by the sea. It is fifteen metres through the garden from the door to the edge of the water. It is a safe place to swim and we are good swimmers.

Are we unreasonable to go for a fifteen minute swim once the kids (preschool) are asleep? They never wake. We would have a friend lined up who would come and babysit if they don't hear from us after half an hour (in case of shark attack or other unforeseen event)!

Basically the only risk is a house fire. We would not have any appliances running and the house would never be more than 30 metres away and in full view. Window open so we'd hear smoke alarm.

I feel like this should be acceptable as it's basically like having a swimming pool in your garden. But for some reason I feel it isn't okay, but I don't know why!

What would you do?

YABU you should be locked up for even thinking of it.
YANBU it's just like a swimming pool, it's fine.

No. Read it again 🙄

Maddie Mccans parents thought similar

Obviously not. This isn’t dissimilar to the McCanns thinking they could go to dinner safely because they could see the building their children were in. You need to be in the house with them or in the garden with a monitor. You don’t leave the property. Just because they have never woken, it doesn’t mean they won’t ever wake. They will.

I can see from your replies that you think this is absolutely fine and no different to a “swimming pool in the garden” so just go for it, don’t bother asking.

Yes sorry was just going to repost meters! (The heat!) but still 30 minutes potentially, no way!

I had a ground floor flat once that had the "front" door into the kitchen, and the "back" door on the far side of the bedrooms down a corridor, all on one side, no windows out the back.

But it didn't have a lagoon outside, it had a view of the bins.

To answer the OP, sea, lagoon or not, you can't leave your own property with children in it, and you need to be able to get up and respond to the monitor, not swim over, haul yourself out and go in.

Moot point since there are two of you.

Do you live in Anglesey in a fantastic house with lots of glass? That’s my dream house. But even there, no to leaving the kids.

Ah, one of my favourite MN expressions 😃.
"I have a hobby, think cycling"
I eat a lot of cheese, think Gorgonzola"

I mean, even with a swimming pool in the garden. I wouldn’t do it by myself with pre school children. I’d want someone in the house to hear them if they called.

I have an 8 year old and the ONE TIME me and my husband both went down the bottom of the garden to do some watering/gardening (don’t usually but this one time we were chatting and didn’t think) our child woke up inconsolable because we weren’t in the house and they were calling.

It’s just not worth it until they’re actually old enough to be left for an hour (12/13?), until then I would alternate.

Yes. I do wonder why some people post in these situations. She/he/they are going to do it anyway.

I think 15m a quick ten minute swim and 15m back is fine. I used to take my dog out for about the same length of time every evening to the end of our garden.

It’s 50ft to the sea. But how far from the shore would OP be swimming? She’s not talking about paddling - she wants to swim. So she’d be probably about 20-30ft offshore. So now we’re talking 70-80ft. And is it 50ft from the back door? Or from the end of the garden?

How far is too far to leave preschoolers asleep while you wild swim, in your view? Even very good swimmers can drown in the sea.

Honestly I find it hard to believe anyone, including the OP, is truly stupid enough to think this is ok. If the OP were on an anchored boat actually floating on the lagoon, with her kids asleep in the cabin, and she wanted to swim 50ft away, I’d still think it was stupid.

There’s no real difference other than - if your child needs you and can walk into your garden, then they can probably access you. If they have to walk 15 metres to the sea, that’s slightly different. Surely you can see that?

Since you have to ask then it is not ok……in fact, it is bloody ridiculous, foolhardy idea. One sty in the garden and the other swim……then change over…..sorted

Thank you, this is kind of what I'm thinking of. The exact questions we use to assess risk.

No, we wouldn't hear if one cries. Neither of them have cried out in the night for two years, but I guess technically this could be the night! They can't get out of a safe area of the house because we have a double height stairgate. So they physically couldn't escape that area, but yes, they could be upset. We have however spent fifteen minutes in the shed before, and we wouldn't hear them from there either. While I wouldn't want them to be upset, it isn't going to kill them and sometimes you just have to get things done. This doesn't apply here though because swimming is not necessity.

It would take around 30 seconds to get into the house from the furthest point we'd swim to (it's not deeper than my waist so I could water-run pretty quick). So if the smoke alarm went off that would be how long it would take. That's my only logical worry to be honest. It's so unlikely, but just what if. What if 30s is too long.

I'm also very amused by all the guesses as to what my house might look like 🤣

Just get a babysitter,

The risk is too big for the pay off.

Kids choke. They fall. They get ill incredibly quickly. Fires start quickly. Burglars watch houses for patterns of when homeowners leave.

On top of that, something could happen to one or both of you while you're out swimming.

I wouldn't be surprised if a neighbour reported you to SS. They would be doing the right thing and SS wouldn't support you in this at all.

I’m really relaxed by mumsnet standards and I have left my 7 and 10 year old to pop to the corner shop before, but that did make me nervous! They’re too little, what if they wake up?

They were double the distance away, and couldn't see the apartment, which opened up into the street.

30 minutes?

So you want to go swimming with your husband, leaving your pre-school aged kids alone in the house where you can't hear them should anything happen?

YABU. Obviously.

Shark attack!! 😆😨

30 seconds to hear the alarm, swim/waddle 15m to shore through the very shallow lagoon and run another 15m to the house, unlock the house and get through the double height stair gate to save both children from a fire. Absolute bullshit.

You’re clearly going to do this anyway, @Maezzle , so knock yourself out. Frankly the idea of my child crying for me for half an hour, confused and scared because they can’t find me, would be enough to put me off, let alone any of the other things that could go wrong. But you do you.

Whereas when you are swimming in the sea you can see through walls?