Family swimming times - AIBU?

[FamilySwimming]

Just looking for a sense check on this one.

The two local leisure centres only have certain very limited times for family swimming, meaning in the kids' pool. So if I want to take my 2 year old swimming, the only times we can book are between 12 and 2pm.

My 2 year old eats lunch at 12 and then has a nap every day. Surely this is pretty standard for any child who has one nap per day?

AIBU or is this an absolutely insane time to schedule family swimming? I feel like I just won't be able to take her swimming until she's stopped napping completely.

I spoke to them on the phone and they basically said that my toddler's meal and nap schedule isn't their problem, but I was under the impression that this is most toddlers' meal and nap schedule, hence the AIBU.

Maybe wait til naps are done as shouldn't be long. Eldest stopped at about 20 months and youngest just after 2. Makes things much more flexible then.

But...the slot is two hours long. So have lunch a little earlier, then nap, then swimming. Or have lunch, then swim, then nap. Or swim, then lunch, then nap. It's hardly a massive change to your routine if it's something you really want to do.
And you keep saying "the local council leisure centre" and "isn't worth it" like you're not really a fan of the pool anyway. In which case, what's the issue?

I mean it's not worth dealing with the fall out of skipping her nap for the sake of a one hour swim.

The point about it being council run is that they should be making an effort to make it accessible to everyone.

It was the leisure centre’s fault, then it was old people’s fault, now it’s SAHM’s fault. It couldn’t possibly be a case of changing your own behaviour and dealing with a slightly over tired child later on.

They run at a loss, invariably. They need to limit their losses so will provide whatever brings in the most money.

I’ll swap you, the only time kids aren’t allowed in the pool at mine is between 12-2!!

I don't really have an issue with the way they run the nursery.

I did speak to them about whether she necessarily needed to have such a long nap not long ago, because she isn't a great sleeper at night and I wondered whether capping or dropping the nap might help. But they said she can't be in the main room during nap time because the staff rotate on their lunch breaks and they have to have the ones who are on duty in the nap room to maintain the required ratio.

They suggested that if it's really an issue they might be able to send her into the baby room for a bit, so I said I'd see how things go when she was at home for two weeks, but she's been telling me she wants to go for her nap as soon as lunch is done so I think she probably does still need it.

I get what you mean about children's rhythms being different and the one size fits all approach not working for all of them but I think there are so many benefits to nursery on the whole I'm not going to get worked up about it.

Is it just one pool for everyone? If so then it kind of makes sense to have an adults swimming session at lunchtime for people who go in their lunch break.

we had similar and they then used it as an excuse to get rid of the toddler swim hour as no one was using it! of course they weren’t, it’s a rubbish time?! do morning between 9-11 or afternoon 1-3?!

But you have no idea how many people they are trying to accommodate - and I have plenty of friends with toddlers who would use that session, their 20m old nap later, or will happily eat in the car, fall asleep and get lumped into the cot when they get home.

My son isn't like that, and I don't think it's worth it to try to make him that way for a swim either.

But you're being ridiculous now - under 1s are usually able to swim in that period, some 2yo will manage it with budging around, 3yo probably nap later, and 4yo will be fine.

The "everyone" you're referring to is really you!

That’s fair enough, if it doesn’t bother you that’s grand, that’s simply my opinion on the rigidity of such nurseries. But if it’s working for you that’s great. As long as when a problem arises they are willing to adapt and change, that’s all you can ask for.

What…ever? So for her entire life her routine won’t change for ANYTHING? Job interviews are going to be a HOOT!

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to employ two year olds in this country.

This. God everyone’s so bloody harsh- yes that’s a ridiculous if the only time toddlers can go. All the talk of entitlement have a word with yourselves she was just asking!
I think limiting anyone to 2 hours a day is harsh. I agree OP!

It is a rubbish time!

But was the toddler swim hour the only time toddlers could swim, or could they use the pool at other times that weren't specifically designated for toddlers?

Because the issue here is that these are the only times the kids' pool is open for family swimming. The rest of the time the kids' pool is not open to the public, and I don't think anyone would thank me for taking her into the big pool which is divided into lanes for lane swimming.

I honestly think it's really bad that little kids are basically only allowed to use the local pool for a couple of hours a day at lunchtime. It's the council run pool that parents of little kids pay their council tax towards, not a private gym.

I just think it’s odd your DD’s routine is incapable of changing at all, hence when she tried to get her job her precise lunch and nap times are gonna to be problematic.
As it happens…these times are completely your issue and the pool staff are correct in asserting that it’s not their problem.

A two year old doesn’t need a rigid nap time.

Give them a big snack/half their lunch before swimming and then another big snack/half their lunch after.

Then they can fall asleep.

That's the exact schedule for my 2 year old as well. He turned 2 back in December and I don't think he's anywhere close to dropping his nap.

It's rarely worth it to attempt to skip it, nap on the run etc so we don't unless for special occasions and swimming wouldn't be one of those things.

Are you sure there’s no times you can take her into the big pool? Ours is divided into “lane swimming” and “public swimming” times. At the public swimming times, lanes 1&2 are opened up and families use this and then there’s still 3 or 4 lanes for the people that want to do their lengths.

From 1-4 years we did a Water Babies swimming lesson at 12pm

He would have breakfast, and a snack about an hour before lesson.

He’d often fall asleep in the car on way home, and I’d get him lunch straight after waking up.

It was once a week, and he coped from the age of 1 with this (earlier than this the lesson was 10.30)

At two I would be surprised you need to be that rigid. You could arrive just before 12 to get changed get in the pool at 12 and still be hope for lunch (or take lunch with you) and nap by 1/1.30 if this is what is needed?

As a side note, and regardless of the swimming, I would ask nursery to stop the nap. You say that she isn’t a great sleeper at night, well this is why!

Mine stopped napping at around 2yo and then slept at night from 7pm until 7:30am. It made days so much nicer as more flexibility. I still kept ‘quiet time’ ie in their cot beds with soft toys / books (also to give me a break!) but easier to skip on occasions or have later in the afternoon.

Yes that's about it in a nutshell.

The rest of the time is likely to be taken up with school swimming lessons 9-3 and then swim school after school. These will be more efficient at getting significant numbers of children to learn to swim than toddlers playing.

It's years since my two were that age group, but the toddler swims were around lunchtime too. It fitted around school run commitments and frankly my two were masters of inconvienient naps at any time for maximum ruination of the day until they went to school.

The constraints of timetabling and balancing differing and often conflicting needs means that you can't please all people. Nap time is fairly low in consideration compared to other factors like school hours.

I'll have another look on the site and check but to be honest I wouldn't take her in the big pool until she is older anyway because it's much colder and there's nowhere she can just splash around with her feet on the ground. Surely she's exactly the sort of customer the kids' pool is designed for?

I think perhaps I have explained this badly.

Essentially there is a kids' pool, designed for little kids, which is not really deep enough to actually swim in, but which is closed to the general public at most times. Apparently because of swimming lessons, even though a four year old could comfortably stand up in it.

I'm quite surprised that Mumsnet is so OK with a public pool for little kids being unavailable for little kids to use except at lunchtimes.

Don't you have times that are open to the general public and not dedicated to 'Family swim', 'lane swim' ' swimming lessons', ' swim fit' 'swimming club' etc.

I never took mine, as babies, to Family sessions, just general public swimming.
Years later, new muns are doing the same, at the same pool.
From them having their injections so they could go in the water, I used to put the kids in the creche for one hour while I went to the gym and then take them into the water for an hour.