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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be cross with the swimming pool rules.

63 replies

Thevelveteenrabbit · 07/02/2010 16:44

I always thought (yes I know - I should have checked) that you required 1 adult to supervise 2 four year olds when swimming. So as my twins were four last weekend we ventured out to go swimming this afternoon - me, dh, dd1 (6) and dt1 and dt2 (4).
Well they wouldn't let us in as the pool states one for one supervision for under 5s. Fortunately we managed to persuade FIL to come and watch because supervision from the gallery is sufficient!
I am cross because I was so looking forward to going swimming altogether as a family without relying on anyone else and being able to take them swimming on my own during the week when dd1 is at school.

OP posts:

fernie3 · 07/02/2010 18:16

we cant take ours because we have 3 under 6 and in our pool you need one adult to each child under 6. So even if my husband is with me we still cant go.

LynetteScavo · 07/02/2010 18:20

Our local sports centre has a rule of no more than two children under 8 to one adult.

Which is why we have membership to a private gym. There would have been two years when I couldn't have taken my children swimming alone.

BlauerEngel · 07/02/2010 18:20

It's not the only stupid rule at swimming pools - dd2 was terrified about putting her head under water for ages because the water got up her nose. Her swimming club (not in the UK) allowed her to wear googles that went over her eyes and nose just as a way of getting her to swim at all, and it worked. Now she doesn't need the goggles either, but back then it gave her the confidence to swim. But when we went to my mum's local pool, her goggles were banned for 'health and safety' reasons. Cue one very upset and bewildered little girl. If she'd had to learn to swim in that pool, she would still be a non-swimmer!

spiderpig8 · 07/02/2010 18:41

Our pool changed the rules from 1 to 2 children under 8 , to under-4s being required to have one-to-one supervision.But there was such a public outcry ( and drop in revenue too I expect) that they soon changed back. I advise the OP to lobby her councillor to get things changed !

spiderpig8 · 07/02/2010 18:42

Oh and the annoying thing is that one spotty teenage swimming teacher without even a lifegaurd on duty can run a lesson for 10 four year olds

IlanaK · 07/02/2010 18:43

I think it varies. Our local council pool has a 1:2 ratio for under 8's. From 8, you do not even have to go in the pool with them. My local LA Fitness with no lifeguard has no rules at all. I take all three of mine swimming there alone. My eldest is 8, but they did not ask. He could well have been 7 for all they knew. He can swim really well, but again, they did not check. If it was 1:1, mine would have been totally stuck as we could never have gone swimming.

bruffin · 07/02/2010 19:09

Oh and the annoying thing is that one spotty teenage swimming teacher without even a lifegaurd on duty can run a lesson for 10 four year olds

To be a teacher you have to have lifesaving qualifications which need to renewed every 2 years

juneybean · 07/02/2010 19:12

I got in bother the other day for swimming too far into the deep end with my charge on my back.

It's not like I was about to throw her off lol

spiderpig8 · 07/02/2010 19:17

At our pool you can take your LO anywhere in the pool if they are NOT wearing armbands , but have to stay in the shallow end if they are.

juneybean · 07/02/2010 19:23

She wasn't wearing anything, she was just on my back whilst I did some lengths....or that should be half lengths haha.

And yet as soon as I took her in the learning pool, she fell over and her head went under the water.

She was safer in the big pool!

jobhuntersrus · 07/02/2010 19:28

At our local pool it is 1 adult to 2 under 8s. Over 8s can go in on their own.

Ivykaty44 · 07/02/2010 19:32

my local pool is 1:1 for anyone under 6

BUT on certain days at certain times - you can go with more children.

So i would thinkit is more to do with life gaurd ratio and insuranc than anything else.

though I have nothing to prove this, only that if it can be done on certian days when more LG are on duty.

i suppose it would cost to much to make it like this all the times they were open.

tassisssss · 07/02/2010 19:33

TVR - just shows that all pools are different as I regularly take my 3 (6, 3 and 1) on my own and it's fine!

Nymphadora · 07/02/2010 19:33

1:1 under 5 here then 1:2 then at the grand old age of 8 they are allowed on their own

thatsnotmymonster · 07/02/2010 19:34

YANBU

This annoys me so much[angy]

Round here it is 1:2 for under 7s and 1:1 if they don't have swimming aids.

I have 3 under 5 and could easily manage on my own. My nearly 5yo ds is vey competent with arm bands and is learning without- he can do doggy paddle for a metre or 2. My 3.5yo can swim well with armbands and my 21mo can also swim with her armbands.

None of them need any 'help' when they are wearing armbands. They just need to be watched. It is not hard to keep them all together, especially if we just stay in a baby pool.

I enlisted a friend with 1 baby to come swimming with us to make up the ratio and another friend came with her 2. The ironic thing was that I was the one helping them as all their children needed supported by an adult even with their armbands on whereas mine didn't, so my friend with 2 couldn't cope.

I would love to be able to take my dc's swimming more often but will have to wait another 2-3 years before I can by which time they will all be at school

nooka · 07/02/2010 19:40

That's because it is assumed that a child with armbands cannot swim. They are only a buoyancy aid - my understanding is that you can drown with armbands on.

I think that flexible rules make the most sense. One to one for under fours does seem fairly reasonable, except perhaps in very shallow water (although you can still drown in shallow water). One to one for under eights seems ridiculous, but I can see that with most families having fewer children, a one to two rule might seem reasonable. Exemptions for children who have learned to swim seems a good idea - it's an incentive to put your child through the swimming lessons I guess.

With the swimming lessons I think that is a totally different scenario to a busy and chaotic pool.

ChippingIn · 08/02/2010 05:00

I think it is ridiculous that as a parent you can't make this decision for yourself. Just because some parents make stupid decisions, they shouldn't penalise all parents. Lifeguards are mandatory at all pools - surely this would ensure a reasonable amount of safety to cover stupid parents!

Just to clarify - an adult should be in the pool, but you should be able to decide how many children you are able to be responsible for (even if they maybe restrict it to 4 or something reasonable - but a 1:1 ratio - ridiculous).

Phoenix4725 · 08/02/2010 06:03

hmm will have tocheck out mylocal pool .If its 1 -1 under 8looks like my dc wont be going swimmingfor at least 2 years as single parent,

neverhadproblem at haven or centre parcs .Infact ds1 used take ddon the slies while i looked after ds3 .Infact he has watched dd and ds3 ideepwater while i went on rapids with ds2

sarah293 · 08/02/2010 07:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

littleducks · 08/02/2010 08:28

I have complained about this before, so wont droan on too much.

But one local pool used to run a 'womens only' session as in truely womens only with no male lifeguards etc. which was attended by mostly muslim ladies who tend be covered, it was a hugely popular session as there was no competition as no other pools did this, it started at one hour a week and then went up to three sessions as it was so popular.

They had a 1 adult to an under 5 rule so maximum ever possible would have been one adult to child.

Free swimming for kids introduced, they then banned children from these sessions as it cut down on their revenue They wont even allow one session per week for kids to go, you cant pay for kids either. Then they also then introduced several 'adult only' sessions where men are allowed. So its now harder to teach kids yourself.

Other local pool is 1 adult to 1 under 3 and other pool 1 adult to 2 under 3. So they are all totally diff. These pools are different local authority and dont offer the gov funded free swimming at all.

Romanarama · 08/02/2010 08:46

My 3 are under 8 and I take them swimming every week. It's not dangerous at all. Apart from the fact that they can all swim (my 7yo swims lengths for 1.5 hrs at swimming club 2x per week even), when we're all there they just play in the baby pool which even the 3yo can stand up in.

These kind of threads make me so happy not to live in the UK with all its daft rules about everything you do. So annoying.

weegiemum · 08/02/2010 08:49

I think here its 1:1 for 3 and under (might be 2 and under), 1:2 for 3(or 4) - 8, and then at 8 they can go in on their own (whether or not they can swim!)

For all pools in the city it is the same, which makes it easier, and I only have one under 8 now !

We usually go to the same pool all the time, but once it was shut so we went elsewhere. All my kids can swim multiple lengths and are very competent in the water. So dd2 (who was 5) jumped in and began enthusiastically backstroking up the pool (as she always does!). The lifeguard blew his whistle and shouted "that child can't swim!". I was appalled! What did it look like she was doing??? Because she wasn't "big enough" he would not allow her to go into the deep end! Despite the fact that she can swim very well, dive in like a wee dolphin and do 10 lengths without stopping!

We don't ever go there any more.

I did complain when I got out but the manager just said that the lifeguard (who I know had gone to talk to the manager to get his side of the story in - I saw them on the side of the pool) had had to make a judgement call. Funny enough I know more about my dcs swimmin ability than a lifeguard who has never seen them before.

At our usual pool where we go 2-3 times a week, the lifeguard shouts "hello weegiegirlie, how many lengths today?" or something similar. thats why we usually go to the same place!

abride · 08/02/2010 08:53

Is anyone surprised that British children are getting fatter and fatter?

ImSoNotTelling · 08/02/2010 09:21

It's true abride.

They can't play out, their parents can't take them swimming. And when they're older they won't go swimming by themselves as it's no bloody fun now they've taken away the diving boards and deep ends. What right minded young teen wants to do lengths in a shallow pool? It's ridiculous.

chopstheduck · 08/02/2010 09:28

It's hardly an excuse for children getting overweight! you jsut have to look around for a pool where you can go, or do something else.

I can't take all of mine by myself, cos I have three under 8, so we go at weekends, or when one or two of them are elsewhere. I used to take the dts on their own before they started school, and foudn a pool that did allow me to take them both. One of our local pools also offers a certification scheme for competant swimmers under 8 to be exempt from the ratios.

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