SOULD I TAKE HER TO 1ST SWIMMING CLASS WITH A COLD?

[Schmauskin]

8 month dd has her first cold. She has remained bright and cheerful throughout, slept well ( save one night of coughing early on) and continued to eat. I'm no longer giving her any medication and apart from a runny nose and a bit of sneezing, the cold seems on it's way out. Tommorow is her first 30 min swimming class. Do I take her or will it exacerbate her symptoms and make the cold drag on?? Don't know what to do....

Personnally I would not because I am not sure "I" would be keen to swim myself.... also pools are full of other "illnesses" and if one 's immune system is slightly compromised it really would nolt help!

I wouldn't

i would see how she is overnight, but if she hasnt improved i would keep her warm and cosy indoors. 30 mins is quite a long time to be in the water, for making you chilly.

its a shame though, if she misses her 1st lesson, will she be ok to start at the next one?

i wouldnt, dont know were you are but weather is thick snow here at min and we are hibernating till its gone as dd has had colds and bugs on and off since christmas

no

A resounding NO then! Your making me think swimming classes aren't really worth it. Are pools so full of germs?

30 mins seems a long time for a 8 month old baby to be in the water - they get cold very quickly - I'm sure we used to take ours in for about 10 mins at that age.

I'm go to go against the grain here and says - it depends...!! If your 30 minute class like Baby Swimming or an Aquatots thing where the pools used are private (rather than municipal) and therefore a lot warmer and more like getting into a bath than a poolis not at a normal...I would be inclined to give it a go.

We have taken dd swimming since she was 5 months old - every week. We only miss it for illnesses like conjunctivitus, gastric anything, chest infections, etc. If she has a cold/cough and is unwell with it - so in my book this would be lethargic, has a raised temparature, not eating, etc. - then I would also no take her. If she is not unwell with her cold - then I would definitely take her as I find that the steam and heat generated from these pools actually helps.

Realise this goes against what the others have said - but this is what we do and dd (now 17 months) shows no ill effects from it! That said - if your lesson is at a normal municipal pool where the water temp is much cooler - then I might also be inclined to give it a miss.

I wouldnt take dd with any kind of illness in case she passed it on ................not really fair on others .

Handbagaddiction - It's the local pool, not a private one although their baby pool where I did my ante-natal classes is pretty warm. Maybe I should look into Aquatots if the pools they use ar nicer/cleaner/warmer??

I would say the private pools are necessarily cleaner and nicer - the one we use near Guildford is certainly neither! But they are definitely much warmer - and you can take your camera / video cameras and capture every moment without getting told off for being a potential pedophile (sp??)

have discussed with dh, and he thinks we go and watch this time and hopefully by next Tues Blossie will be free of her runny nose and ready for a swim...

I agree with hba in that is your dd is not ill in herself and has her normal amount of energy then I would take her.

The warmer the water the more germs though Handbagaddiction!

Colds are colds. If she is fine in herself I would take her.

IME with my 2 baby classes are very gentle and the teachers are usually very good (she/he won't get your baby to do anything that would be difficult with a cold). They won't allow babies in with infections (i.e. conjunctivitus) but if they didn't allow babies with colds then most of them would miss huge chunks of swimming. It's the same as childcare.

my dd1 and dd2's swimming teacher has always said if its just a cold and they're ok in themselves then a dip in the pool will probably help clear their noses etc. we go to Little dippers in Uckfield and my 2 have been going since they were 12 weeks. under water swimming. dd1 is 2.8 and almost swimming now. their pool is always warm but it is looked after properly and therefore i would disagree warmer water = more germs

Mrspink 27... just thought I'd clarify....

Wading pools are the most likely pools to have large numbers of germs, because they are used by children who are not reliably toilet trained.
Wading pools are also shallower and warmer, with less water - which makes them more easily contaminated
Since young children tend to swallow water, wading pools can often be the source of infections and illnesses.

ok point taken.

Message withdrawn

My thinking too Cod
At that age if they miss an activity it isn't a big deal... is it?

She seems much better this evening - no sneezing, big appetite, lots of giggling, (my god I love her) but after reading all your responses (thank you) I still think we'll watch the class tomorrow and then decide if we'll go next week ... nite nite all. x