Pool party for 7 year old safety worries.

[Snowwhite83]

Hi,
my son has been invited to a pool party (my son can swim)later this year and I've been told it's a drop off but I'm not comfortable leaving him. I think there's about 20 kids going and I worry about kids getting excited and jumping on each other , running and slipping or hitting their heads whilst in the pool. I wanted to decline but my son really wants to go.
There will be two parents supervising and presumably some kind of lifeguard. I wanted to ask if others would be happy leaving their kids or if I am being reasonable insisting on staying and watching?
Thanks in advance.

Pool in family home or at a leisure centre?

My daughter was invited to a pool party and I stayed because I felt uncomfortable leaving her. She's 6. I don't want to get into the details, but I'm very glad I stayed, put it that way.

Hi in a leisure centre.

Where is the pool? Is it private or at a leisure centre? UK? The rules will vary massively but at any pool party I have been to at leisure centres, the ration for under 8s or non-swimmers was 2 children to 1 adult and the adult had to physically be in the pool.

Even in a leisure centre I wouldn't leave.

Is it in a public pool? I’d find it hard to believe that they would allow under 8s to be supervised at a ratio of less than 2:1 (unless obviously in a formal lesson). Having 20 kids of various swimming abilities is going to be a recipe for disaster without proper supervision.

A public leisure centre will have qualified lifeguards at a correct ratio to the numbers in the pool.

They will also require kids to follow normal rules like no running etc.

Thanks for this advice. the children will be a mix of 7 and 8 year old. I think I will listen to my gut and say I want to stay. Can anyone help me phrase how I should put it? Feel a bit awkward as it's as if I'm saying the party's not safe.

Yeah, I'm as easy going as it gets, but there is no way I would be leaving, no. Maybe call the leisure centre and ask them if you can spectate as you aren't comfortable with the ratio? Hopefully that means seating right at the side of the pool.

Can you just say you’ll stay? Or offer to be another parent in the pool?

DD was invited to a couple of pool parties. In both cases all the parents stayed, not just from a safety aspect, but because of getting the children changed and getting them home afterwards. It wasn't worth driving home to only have to drive back half an hour later.

Hi
Good idea re calling the leisure centre I hadn't thought of this.
Already offered to help and be in the water but told not needed and to drop my child.

Have you looked on the website for the leisure center ours requires an adult to accompany any under 8s when attending a party?

I would be very surprised if other centers didn't have similar rules. It might be an easier way to start the conversation with the parents?

Is pick up from the pool afterwards? If so, I'd probably say you haven't got anything you can conveniently do in that hour and you'll just bring a magazine or book or something and wait?

You don't have to ask permission, it's a public place and as per a PP, the leisure centre must have the correct ratio of life guards in place and follow the adult to child ratio.

I wouldn't ask, I would just stay - others will be doing the same

Hi thanks for these replies,

My son is younger on the year (born in August). So it may be why they can have the party as most children will be 8.

I will just say I'm not busy and bring a magazine/book as Mrsghastlycrumb suggests.

Thanks all.

I think it's a bit different offering to be in the water. I would just say DS isn't the best swimmer, so I'll be staying to supervise him (from the sidelines).

Good idea Bippity Boppe, would be happy saying this!

Weird how the parents are insisting it's drop off when you are offering to stay and help. I'd be so grateful if a parent offered to help at a kids party!

I'd definitely make a bit of an excuse as suggested by another comment or say that your son is a bit nervous and you'd like to stay.

There were lots of pool parties at a local leisure centre when ours were this age. The rules then were that everyone had to be 8 or accompanied. I suppose most people invited will be 8 but not all. I would check this.

If you're worried about safety you need to be in the water, not watching from the side.

My DD was a strong swimmer at this age and I wouldn't have needed to be, but she's hypermobile and I'm always a bit worried about trampoline parties. Sure enough, at the last one, DH and I had just made it to the nearby shops when we got the call to go back and render first aid. Might as well have sat in the venue!

I am pretty lassez faire but did not let mine go to pool parties until they were 10ish?
Staying wasn't an option for me so I declined, claiming a clash of some sort.

I don't think that's enough supervision for 20 children and would either want to be there with him or decline the invite.

Is the pool open to the public while the party is taking place, with an area sectioned off for the party? If so can you book into a public swim session, and say you'd also like to swim?

Otherwise it's sitting in the viewing gallery, or poolside if you can.