Swimming lesson parents

[LilySLE]

What is it about swimming lessons that mean all common courtesy goes out the window?

• if the sign says no outdoor shoes in the changing room, it means no outdoor shoes in the changing room. Keep a clean pair of adult flip flops or sliders in your child’s swim bag that only ever get used in the changing rooms. Job done.
• same goes for younger siblings attending the swimming pool - the sign applies to them too
• wheeling your buggy with all the dirt and fallen leaves from outside through the changing room where children have to walk in bare feet is against the spirit of the no outdoor shoes rule and you know it
• There are 4 communal, open, showers for about 30 kids all finishing at the same time. Wait until you get home to wash your child’s hair properly and apply conditioning treatments. These showers are just for a quick rinse to get the worst of the chlorine off. The communal showers are not your own private bathroom
• supervise your child in the shower so they are not turning the shower back on every time it turns off automatically, on repeat half a dozen times, while standing there showing no sign of washing anything while in the meantime shivering children are queuing up right in front of you
• don’t leave your bag in the cubicle so no one else can use it during the 30 mins that your child has no use for it

The weekly swimming lesson is tortuous enough as it is - a bit of common courtesy would improve the experience for everyone immensely.

AIBU? Or just perimenopausal and grumpy?!

I agree with everything except the hair washing, I dont have a shower at home and if im paying £40 a month for swimming lessons im going to claw back a bit of my time and gas 🤣 although I do try and do it quickly at least!

Oh op I could have written your post. I will never understand them. Thankfully my ds has put swimming lessons behind him now and take himself swimming or we go together at more sociable times. But in the years of lessons (he went for much longer than he needed to because he was good friends with a few kids in his stage) every single one of your complaints was one I also had. With the bonus of their being a soft play and a cafe in our leisure centre with all of their added foibles. It was a slog for sure!

Oh op I could have written your post. I will never understand them. Thankfully my ds has put swimming lessons behind him now and take himself swimming or we go together at more sociable times. But in the years of lessons (he went for much longer than he needed to because he was good friends with a few kids in his stage) every single one of your complaints was one I also had. With the bonus of their being a soft play and a cafe in our leisure centre with all of their added foibles. It was a slog for sure!

Yes!! Agree and will add in that the seats to wait while child has swimming lessons are very few, why in Gods name does the family with 2 other children, mum, dad AND grandparents have to come and take up every seat so no other fecker can sit?
THEN all of them cram into the changing rooms so there is even less room? Why?

Took the biscuit this week when they all congregated at the exit, yep, crowded in and stopped so no one could get in or out.

Im that fucked off with these people that I’m looking at an alternative pool.

Can I add...

If you/your child don't have a physical disability, don't use the one specially adapted cubicle so that the parent in a wheelchair, which you have seen, is having to wait to change her child and she can't get into the family or normal cubicles.

(After a few weeks of this, the pool staff started to block off access to it so she could use it.)

I’ll add follow the age rules. If it’s 8 it’s 8. Not but my 10 year old son should be allowed in the girls changing a rooms. Nope. He goes in his alone or with dad or use the disabled changing room if he genuinely requires help.

I have 10y of swimming lessons under my belt across 2 leisure centres and haven't encountered this, I have to say.

There is clear signage up about shoes and people respect it.

Children do like "just one more rinse" but most parents are badgering them in exasperated tones from the sideline to get out.

Sorry when my 4 month baby is in the sling (so not to bring dirty buggy through) and I have a 4 year old to help get to the pool I cannot bend down and take my shoes off, and If the foot covers are not refilled what do they expect me to do!!

I would suggest buying your own plastic shoe coverings.

Swimming lessons are hell on earth for parents. I agree with everything you've said, but I'd add something else... There's no real need for parents of over 6s to be in the changing rooms at all in most cases.

Our leisure centre has an u-10 rule for boys in the changing-room, but my DC has demanded to go in the men's alone since age 6 so I've just let him get on with it while sat outside in the waiting area. It has made swimming lessons 100 times less stressful.

From this I've learnt that, just because you can go in with them, doesn't mean you should. When DD is around the same age and able to cope alone in the women's, I'll do the same.

Unless you have littles or they need extra help, send them in and let them get on with it. Cut the number of hovering adults by half and everything will be easier.

I’ve totally been there…. And just took my shoes off. That should be easy enough in a sling? If you don’t like bare feet PP’s flip flop idea is good too.

Where do you live, I might move…

This sounds very tempting, although I don’t think some of the children would ever get out of the shower…!

… and then take pictures of their DC despite the signage everywhere saying no photography

Your post has triggered the incandescent rage that I had for YEARS of going through swimming lessons with three children and having to butt up against the absolute selfish inconsiderate arseholes that are basically those parents willing to be more hard faced and pushy - or maybe they just don’t give a shit - as long as it’s their kids that get the prime locker, the full bench, the front seat and the first warm shower. Dicks.

So glad those days are over now…

I send mine in with exactly what he needs and nothing more. We strip off jumper/shoes/socks outside and he just takes his swim shorts in. There is a viewing area next to the pool and he passes me his shorts, polo shirt and pants as he passes, I give him goggles. I then hand him a towel and fluffy onesie at the end of the lesson and take the goggles. The only thing he then needs to remember to bring out is his swim shorts wrapped in the towel. We don't bother with the shower and do that at home... It's a small price to pay for avoiding the hell of the changing-rooms 😂.

I'm thankful that our pool doesn't seem to be like this, although I'm that grotty parent who doesn't shower their kids at all, we wait til they get home 🙈 everyone respects the no shoe rule (although everyone leaves their shoes in the entrance which is a bit of a trip hazard), also never seen anyone leave their bag in a cubicle either. I feel very lucky now!

Been there, done that...took my shoes off.
When my youngest was 4 months it would have been Dec/Jan so boots at that.

I wear shoes that I can slip off easily for lessons. Birkenstocks normally.

Had baby DD with me but still got shoes off - hers too once she walked. I have given long shower parent so many evil looks she now reserves a shower for my child to rinse in before her kid gets in for two hair washes and a conditioning treatment.

Leaving belongings in the cubicle till the end of the lesson boils my piss! My daughter does the second lesson of the day and there’s never a free cubicle. All full of other people’s stuff. I’m always tempted to stack their things up in the showers 👍

The swimming pool staff at our leisure centre do a sweep of unoccupied changing rooms once a lesson goes in and remove all bags/personal belongings to an empty locker in the vicinity that they leave open. One parent tried complaining that they were leaving things open to being stolen, the staff pointed out that he too had left his belongings unguarded (and no one wanted his son’s skanky pants anyway).

This takes me back OP- used to drive me bonkers; especially the parents keeping shoes on in changing areas and showers!!
Such a relief when lessons are finished with!!

Not grotty, entirely sensible

My 2 have both been under dermatology for eczema and need to use the shower before getting home/need to be moisturised after or they start clawing at themselves.

We always wait for everyone to come through from both directions before using the showers though, as otherwise everything gets clogged up.