Paying for swimming lessons in a block/ periods

[Aquifolium]

Hi,

My daughter’s have attended swimming lessons at the local pool for many years. Their attendance has always been spot on. Now they have started their periods they are missing one or 2 sessions a month.
I have contacted the manager to ask if there has been any thought out into this phenomenon, and the reply is of course, they can use tampons, which are perfectly safe.

I wasn’t addressing this issue in a ‘what are you going to do about it’ kind of way, but the dismissive response I have had from the manager has pissed me off.
I feel that my daughters are at a disadvantage now, and that I am paying out for lessons (block booking only)they can’t take up.
Has anyone else done anything about this issue before? Got anywhere?
TIA

Menu is making sense to me. It’s the same problem we’ve been talking about all thread

She's making none for me.

Fancy telling a woman she can’t discuss a problem unless she has a solution

I didn't say that. All she has been doing is a series of rants about anything which girls might use to be able to participate in sport.

She still can't answer what she thinks should happen. She seems vehemently opposed to anything which prevents girls taking part in sport but equally vehemently opposed to anything which might help them to do so.

I'm not aware of any other ways of stopping periods.

You can get period swimwear...

www.modibodi.co.uk/product-category/swim/

Yes these are 'solutions' but, not great ones

So what do suggest? Other than a wholesale redesign of the female body. You seem to view tampons or cups as the work of satan. You keep going on about girls being forced to use them. They aren't forced but the reality is, if they don't, then they can't go swimming. That's not a patriarchal conspiracy- it's biology..

I am still a bit aghast that calling a cunt a cunt is worse then telling a little girl she must put something up there or she can't do her sports any more.

The suggestion you made is that girls stop their periods by altering their behaviour.

I can only think of 2 ways of stopping periods and I think they are both terrible ideas.

The 'solutions' seem somewhat callous tbh. Put them in the bathroom with some vaseline. Put them on the pill. Blimey.

I am still a bit aghast that calling a cunt a cunt is worse then telling a little girl she must put something up there or she can't do her sports any more

So you keep saying, are you in fact suggesting she should simply bleed into the pool?

Has anyone actually said what you claim? A number of posters have suggested period swimwear. Your stance seems to be anything used to deal with the issue is some sort of oppression.

Given how often posters on MN call a cunt a cunt in the sense of the worst insult they can use I am surprised you are aghast.

I am still a bit aghast that calling a cunt a cunt is worse then telling a little girl she must put something up there or she can't do her sports any more.

Aghast? Don’t be ridiculous. I posted about the language you used, not the point you are trying to make. In terms of a sensible conversation vile language doesn’t get you far.

The suggestion you made is that girls stop their periods by altering their behaviour

Nope. I clearly said that wasn't an option for young girls but it is an option for adult women.

I really have no idea what point you are trying to make. You shout down any suggestions as to how periods can be dealt with and get all huffy if asked for acceptable alternatives.

You just have a dodgy few moments between leaving the pool and arriving in the changing rooms

Which I can guarantee when the pool guard places a bio hazard post up and starts disinfecting the watery blood up - it would cause huge embarrassment to the swimmer.

I taught swimming for many years. Many of my senior school girls dropped out with their class that week and some just cracked on with it.

Many didn’t want to swim because they didn’t want to wet their hair, couldn’t be bothered. I often had to remind some that actually looking st my registrar they had been on their periods for the last week ruining so maybe they should see there doctor... Many teenagers drop off because they are just teenagers and their focus is on something else - unless they are very good and then they are determined and nothing stops them. I don’t agree huge swaths of girls drop off from swimming just because of periods.

Are we to see periods as a disability? If one of my girls in my racing team chose not to swim because she was on her period - Would it be discrimination if we went a head with the race? What if we cancelled but then next week it was another girls turn to be on her period?

There isn’t a solution to this because because there are too many variables. So you just have to take the medium which fits most people.

I don’t see periods to be a disability and I never raised my girls to think they were either.

I understand tampons aren't suitable for 12 year olds, took me years to master them! But I do think it's a bit of a non issue, how many teenagers are going to structured swim classes? If they can swim can you not just go
ad hoc like most teenagers? What type of lesson are they even going to at that ability?

Just to repeat my earlier post (edited a bit given the continuing debate): Several people on this thread have actually suggested some reasonable solutions which don't include putting things inside your vagina like tampons or mooncups - e.g. changing the way lessons are taken, or investment in period safe swimwear either by individuals or on a larger scale by more swimwear companies. It may well be there's a market for it, not just from girls but for women who don't or can't use internal protection. As adults we may have sucked it up but we're we actually just following the path of least resistance?

I think it's an interesting debate like I said earlier I just presumed the OP was in the wrong but actually I think it raises interesting questions.

I often had to remind some that actually looking st my registrar they had been on their periods for the last week ruining so maybe they should see there doctor..

I hated swimming and sport but because I used tampons from the get go it honestly didn't occur to me to get out of it by saying I was on my period. I only started doing so when it was starting to look as if I were the odd girl out who hadn't started.

I meant to comment on this post- what a healthy attitude. There are still far too many women buying into and perpetuating the idea of period shame.

but lots of the older girls manage ok and are definitely not shy as they shout round changing rooms for spare tampons!

I used to teach at a dance school in my late teens and early twenties. The lady who ran the school had to charge per term (pay as you sessions meant she was sometimes in breach of her insurance ratios, or didn’t even earn enough to cover her costs, never mind pay herself a wage.)

She did tell me that a lot of the girls attendance reduced when they started their periods. Her solution was to offer a once a month ‘catch up’ session. You had to book on it (she could only have a limited number of students at a time) but it was no questions asked. It wasn’t a perfect system, it wasn’t the exact lesson you missed (different sessions were mixed together) but it was a way of encouraging the girls to keep coming, and not feel like they were financially missing out.

I see your point OP and no way should any girl be made to insert anything into her body.
Can't they stop swimming lessons now/ for a while? They could still go swimming whenever they like and a lot of places do intensive school holiday swim courses.

I’d probably try the period swimwear if your daughter doesn’t want to use tampons. Which I completely understand. I remember when I first started periods that they were way to heavy for tampons and often flooded pads. That way hopefully they can carry on swimming. Good luck O.P.

I swam competitively when I started. I was straight on tampons as I was swimming that night. Never had any problems.
Didn't know they even did swimming lessons at that age lol. I thought lessons were for preschoolers.

Some people are missing the point that what is under discussion is how block booking swim classes penalises the parents of girls because they are likely to miss classes due to their period happening. It’s about what is a solution to that situation. And solutions have been offered - buying 8 classes that can be used over 12 weeks, for example. Solutions that don’t require girls to have to use tampons if they are not comfortable doing so, ie respecting their boundaries and not penalising them for having boundaries.

BTW. I was 10 at the time.

Do people really expect posters not to post on a thread about a general problematic issue unless they have a solution to offer themselves? No general discussion or ideas or exchange of views? The art of conversation is alive and well with these people

This thread and discussion has been enlightening to me - I never knew about period proof swimming cossies - look at the price though! And my last mooncup cost £20 - being female is an expensive business sometimes. Some of the other solutions suggested to this specific problem (a catch up lesson, flexible policies, sharing a spot with friends etc) are sensible, and workable I believe, with a bit of goodwill and effort.

For my two pence worth, I like swimming but I don't know anything about teaching swimming, is there any "theory" involved? (I know my DCs PE GSCE has a lot of reading and written work). Perhaps there could be a couple of theory parts (each the length of one swimming lesson) which could be available to people who can't get into the pool? A first aid/drowning awareness video and questions session? Videos of different strokes and techniques? There could be alternatives available but still part of the course and can be done anytime. This might be a stupid suggestion though

I'm also quite happy to call a cunt a cunt. No fainting in horror at this on the FWR boards please

And, on the subject of older kids and lessons, I don’t see that that is any bad thing.

Round my way a lot of kids have no out-of-school lessons, which means they have swimming lessons from Year 3 for one and a half terms a year. 4 years of about 20 classes each year. Probably no swimming in between.

I really don’t think those kids are going to be especially competent swimmers by the end of year 6, are they? When I take DD to the public swim, I see a lot of teenage girls messing about in the shallow end, very few getting out of their depth.

That's such a shame weepingwillow. It is so sad to see kids not being able to swim

And solutions have been offered - buying 8 classes that can be used over 12 weeks, for example

It wouldn’t work. Where are you going to get the extra spaces. Busy pools often max their class size. Where are these four extra sessions supposed to appear from.

We run our classes back to back, there are 12 weeks per course. Most classes are full. Where are you going to put these extra classes/sessions? You couldn’t just turn up for a extra class to make up the one you lost because it would be a logistical nightmare.

You also couldn't ‘hold’ empty spaces just incase some one turns up. The site would lose money.

webuilt no it’s not a stupid idea at all. When I did rookie life guard we often did dry lessons. I can’t see why that couldn’t be applicable to normal lessons.

Lass

'Periods can be stopped by altering behaviour'

I can only think of 2 ways of stopping periods in a girl, the pill, or keeping weight low. I think those are not great options. So you not see that?

Actually wellbuily the more I think about it the more I like it actually. It’s really helpful sometimes to read about it and see diagrams such as body positions and stroke direction under the water. How your hands and feet should be, the correct term for them, why we breath the way we do, what the benefits are ect..

It actually would be a good idea to add it to the curriculum Anyway but the parents would be up arms as some think the best way to learn how to swim is just by ploughing up and down

I think it’s s great idea and alternative if a girl in paid classes has started her periods and doesn’t want to miss out