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.

2D conjoined twins? A sort of human centipede situation?

2 people that can't somehow just swim seperately

you can't leave preschool kids alone in the house while you do a sea swim, no. Preschool kids can't be left alone in the house for any reason.

I'd take it in turns to go, or hire a sitter.

You’ve got two preschoolers and neither have cried in the night in the last two years??? Really though?

Where can I buy some of these non-crying babies??

I can't be arsed to read all the shock horror responses. Just do it, enjoy it and don't post in Mumsnet. Sometimes risks are OK.

Just to point out here they couldn't see their apartment from the bar.

It's it that your front child when they call?

I like to play "what was it meant to say" with typos, but this one's got me stumped!

I wouldn’t do it. I have preschoolers and sea swim a lot but I wouldn’t even think of risking it. Seaswimming is loads of fun but of course it can be dangerous. My mum’s friend had a heart attack in the water and died, a few people have suffered from cold water shock (some which were quite serious events), jellyfish stings and once we were kept in the water longer than I’d have liked due to an enthusiastic seal that took a liking to our tow floats.

Haha if it helps, they woke A LOT until they were a year or so old. I have earned my good sleepers!

Thank you all the people who engaged and helped me think through the differences between being in the shed/the swimming pool/the impossible lagoon. It was really helpful.

It was supposed to be a romantic swim, yes, hence the not going separately. We used to swim every few days pre kids, but haven't been able to for four years now. I miss it. But never mind.

Absolutely not. The consequence's of this could potentially be catastrophic. I cannot stress this enough DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN UNATTENDED. Take it in turns if you want to swim.

Hmm didn't Madeline McCann parents say it was like sitting in your back garden? Just go 1 at a time if you really want to. Oh and wear a life jacket FFS. Beach life guards will tell you not to go swimming without a life jacket. The sea is unpredictable. Even the best of swimmers can get out of their depth.

She has a front child and a back child. It's kinder than "favourite" and "not favourite"

With a pool you just put the monitor on the side and swim - they have lights on that flicker and are easy to see - I guess if you have a garden wall you could do this whilst you swim in the sea? But I don't think it's wise with such young children.
You could take turns.
We used to sit in our summerhouse at the end of the garden (25-30m from locked house) with our monitor on and baby/child in bed all the time in summer.
He's 18 now so all good!

Get out the paddling pool and sit in it, holding hands. Romantic! 😻

Just get a babysitter like everyone else and enjoy your very close by, oddly shallow ‘think lagoon not the sea’

Why don’t you just get a babysitter in and go safely?

Just take turns. If you need to query it, you know deep down this is not wise....

Why can't you just get your friend to come and sit with the kids?

YABU. I personally wouldn’t take the risk. One of your little ones could wake up vomiting or fall down the stairs or something and you’d be none the wiser. Children are so precious and irreplaceable, it’s not worth it.

I would always want to be in earshot.

It’s not really just house fires you have to worry about. The kids could be ill. Once my child had croup at 2 years old. Went to bed absolutely fine and then woke up with her airways constricting.. I heard the deep raspy breaths and was able to phone 999 and then get her calm and sitting up and breathing a bit better. They gave her medicine and she was fine but even 5 or 10 minutes of her lying there struggling to take a breath, panicking and wondering why her mummy isn’t coming… I can’t bare to think about it.

A romantic swim where you both have your eyes permanently fixed on the doors and windows of your house doesn’t sound terribly romantic tbh.

If you have a good enough friend to call in case of shark attack then you have a good enough friend to ask to babysit for a couple of hours, surely.

What!! A life jacket?

No, beach life guards will NOT tell OP that.

Have you never heard of Madeleine McCann?

This post is crazy, what kind of parents are you? Stupid or selfish? Possibly both

Yes this. FFS.

I'm almost wetting myself so how incomprehensible this was

"Is it that you don't come when they call" is what it was supposed to say.

In order the front and back child idea. The one that care about is the child with the window they can see. Who cares about poor front child 😂

We need a diagram.