DS shaking in the pool’s changing rooms

[DYIDIY]

It’s so so cold in there, he shakes all the time and is quite scary to watch him. I usually just use the pool’s towels but we are only allowed one each and it’s not enough as it gets soaked and then he is cold whilst I get all his clothes out of the locker etc. Does anyone have a nice, warm towel to recommend that won’t occupy too much space in my gymbag? What tricks do other parents use to keep their DC warm in the changing rooms?

Rash vest to swim in.
Quick dry towel from any walking shop (large size).
A fleece to chuck over as soon as he's half dry.

Just take a big hooded towel and help him get changed quickly. Primark or sports direct probably sell them.

I put one of those towelling robes over mine as soon as they get out of the pool. Then use lightweight travel towels to dry them off. But ours is just a regular council funded pool so no towels provided. It sounds like yours is a private gym so can't they increase the towel provision or turn the heating up?

Also I bring the bag with the clothes when I collect them from the pool so they don't need to wait while I go to the locker

How old is he ? If he is little and you are diving into the car afterwards then one of those changing robes designed for surfers might be good as he can just keep it on until you get home. My dd has one for after sea swimming, and it is really warm.

One of these?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/boys-swimming-suit-shorty-100-kloupi-blue-red/_/R-p-323542

Or if he’s really small one of of those Velcro neoprene costumes. Then bring a towel they can wear and then just use the pool towel to actually dry them.

How warm is the pool? Does he have a warm shower after swimming? I'd get him warm in the shower, then immediately towel him off - any decent but cheap towel from Dunelm or Sainsbury's will do, yes you'll have to carry it in your bag- and put his T-shirt and jumper on straight away. You can then put his pants on and dry his feet while he's sitting in the changing room.

Have you raised the issue of the cold changing room with staff? I left one gym because the pool was too cold for swimming lessons without my DC shivering after 20mins. They had all sorts of excuses for the low temperature (apparently most people prefer it) - years later I rejoined and it's now several degrees warmer 🤷🏼‍♀️

We use an over the head microfiber towel, bought one on amazon just and went for a way bigger size so it goes down over his knees and is baggy enough to take shorts off underneath but stay covered and have large quick dry towels from decathlon for after shower which can wrap in also, they fold really small but keep warm.
Also after lessons we put on fleece pjs and Oodie to warm up fast.

Does it matter how big the towel is as long as he's warm?

Neoprene wetsuit in the water, then a big wearable towel as soon as they come out, to warm them up as they get changed. Separate towel to dry hair as that can keep them cold.

I put mine under a hot shower while I get fresh dry towels and their clothes from the locker. Blow dry hair a bit.

I don’t understand how others let their kids have dried pool water on their skin.

After swim onesie? If you go by car he can wear it home, if you use the bus, well it depends on his age.

www.amazon.co.uk/after-swimming-onesie-kids/s?k=after+swimming+onesie+kids

Isn’t the rash vest useless once it gets wet in terms of keeping them warm?
thanks for all the tips. He is little so I am in the pool with him still. Might have to bring a bag with warm clothes with us so I can quickly dry him and put a top layer on before walking back to the freezing cold corridors and changing rooms and waste time opening the locker etc as by then he is shaking!
It’s my first time at a pool so don’t know whehther this is normal btw? Premises are huge so appreciate it’s hard to keep the place warm but still, it feels so cold once you come out of the water.

I always took at towel onto poolside when they were tiny - wrap them up & take cold swimwear off them before heading to changing rooms.

In our local pool there was often a queue for the showers, so better to be getting dry straight away then home for a shower.

@DYIDIY you get long sleeve swimming garments which are just for sun protection but you also get ones like wetsuits, or little wetsuit vests that hold the water next to the body, water heats up, and therefore keeps them warmer. We have sometimes had to take the vest off our 17mo old as she has gotten too warm!

It definitely is a problem at poorer funded pools, particularly council ones in our area - the changing areas are Baltic!

Nothing bad will happen to him in the time it takes to dry and dress him. But for his comfort I recommend IKEA's hooded poncho towels for little kids, and bring a flask of warm milk/hot chocolate.

You don't say his age. Mine is 3 and would sit in his towel and drink his milk and have a snack while I get dressed. Then I dress him.

@Yourethebeerthief thank you! Yes it’s just a bit distressing to watch him shake so much! He is 3.5 so similar to yours

@IWillBeWaxingAnOwl this is a private gym/pool and also quite expensive tbh! Maybe I should complain

The issue is that, if it's a multi purpose pool, people who are swimming as training want in 2-3 degrees cooler than wimps like me. Anything under 30 is freezing as far as I'm concerned . I find a rash vest does help and a over the head towel after showering

My severely autistic teenager is the same, he doesn't understand towelling himself dry and so will stand there shivering. I get the bag of clothes on the way to a change room; I prioritise drying him. When he was younger, I'd dress him in a fleece onesie after drying and for the journey home; now he wears normal clothes but with an Oodie thrown over the top - fluffy hood etc. Then I dry and dress myself.

Rub him dry quickly to keep him warm and to get rid of water droplets on his skin with the pool towel then straight into nice thick joggers, t shirt and fleece which will finish drying him. Wooly hat on his head to dry his hair straight away. Or shock horror put him straight in a fleecy onesie which are brilliant for after swimming but MN hates them.

It's the water droplets and air on them making him cold the heat from his body is being 'stolen' so they can evaporate. Which is why rash vests work as they add a barrier between cool air and skin.

If there is a seating area you can access poolside for wet people (not dry spectators) and you aren't fussed about showering him afterwards then it would be fine to dress him poolside. Or at least to bring a towelling robe or changing robe and put it around him. I take all our towels and shampoo etc in a dry bag (the type used for watersports) poolside as it doest matter if it goes on the wet floor and then all our wet stuff goes in it afterwards.

My DD was terrible for this and even shivered in the pool during lessons!
Luckily I only had her to sort so got her dry as quick as possible and quickly popped on warm and easy clothes fleece and trackies usually with a hat and coat in the cooler months as we walked home, I think that helped too!

Most other parents popped their kids in onsies and out to the car asap.
Showers/hair washing can wait til you get home if you want to be quicker.

I had one of the towelling ponchos from decathlon for DD and would put it on her as soon as she got out of the pool then in the changing rooms would dry her off and into something nice and warm like a fleece onesie or thick joggers.

www.decathlon.co.uk/p/kids-surf-poncho-135-to-160-cm-550-spot/_/R-p-309929

Try these https://gogoosey.co.uk

I’d be inclined to chuck a hooded towel on him pronto - these aren’t too bulky. Dry his legs though. https://amzn.to/3YjPGqZ

But then get him into a onesie.