Swimming Pool Etiquette

This summer we have been in Michigan. The house we are renting has a pool. I'm told common sense should have prevailed and intuitively I should have known a few basic rules of pool etiquette, but I must admit, unfortunately, common sense did not prevail to semi-disastrous results.

Let me give a bit of background to defend myself. Max took swim classes in NYC this past winter/spring. In the indoor pool at NYC, if the child isn't potty trained they are required to wear swim diapers and a swimsuit over the diapers. And during swim class they were not encouraged or required to wear life jackets. We also had to wear swim caps...yuck! Even Max had to wear a swim cap, he hated it.

The no life jacket part made sense to me, you were in the pool with them. Regarding the swim diapers and swim suit, no problem, lots of kids in the pool, I thought it was to minimize the pee in the pool and to prevent any lechers in the adult pool from staring at naked kids. As a parent, you were also required to get in the pool with your child. I have heard of classes at this age where the instuctor and the child work together in the pool vs the parent. Many mornings I hoped for just such a set up as I didn't want to get wet and walk home in the cold. Let me tell you, it is not fun to be in the family changing room after swim class trying to get yourself and your child dressed and not be caught in any compromising situations (nakedness) chasing your kid around while you try to get a piece of clothing on. Remember the words "family changing room" so this was co-ed and plenty of fathers took their kids to swim class. Many a time I spent running out of the changing room (curtains, not doors...you now see the issue) half-dressed trying to prevent him from opening a door to get out of the family locker room back into the pool area or simple get on the elevator and leave or bothering parents and kids behind other curtained changing areas...fun, fun, fun...NOT!

Back to my common sense, I have drifted to another topic altogether.

At our home in MI, we'd let Max in the pool with no life jacket...same as my NYC class...made sense to me as I or a trusted relative or friend would be in the pool with him. He splashes around on the steps in the pool and has a jolly old time. We also hold him in the water and let him practice his swim lessons -- kicking, blowing bubbles in the water, dunking him, climbing out of the pool, etc. Well, several times we let him go in the pool with no swim diaper...au naturale. Usually in the evenings when the sun is almost set, the pool is like bathwater and we have a bunch of fun, just before his real bath and bedtime...a pool sure tires a kid out. It is so cute, I thought. Just like in the bath tub, no issues being naked in water.

Well, this is where the common sense comes in. Evidently, kids can poop in the pool, not just urinate. We took Max to Camp Dearborn (a park in Milford, MI) and there was a kiddie pool. While Aunt Vickie was getting Bebe Nouria settled I let Max play in the kiddie pool in just his diaper. Lots of other kids playing, several mothers lounging at the edge of the kiddie pool soaking up some rays. We were there for about 10-15 minutes waiting for Aunt Vickie to get back so I could put his swim diaper and swim suit on. A friend of Vickie's had offered a swim diaper as we were heading to the swim area and I thought, "no, don't go to the trouble, we have the diapers and Vickie will be back with our supplies in a few minutes". In the pool area, no one said anything to me, lots of smiles and nods...kids in the kiddie pool an adorable sight.

When Vickie got back, she watched Max so I could run to get his supplies. I was not gone more than 3 minutes before I hear a yell across the park, "Max pooped in the pool". As I looked up in dread, I saw mothers and children piling out of the kiddie pool area. The kids very sad and the mothers with tense faces. When a child poops in the pool, they have to drain the pool, clean and sanitize it and then fill it back up. It was 4:30 pm, the pool closes at 8 pm and would now be closed for the night, because Max pooped in the pool.

After my friend, who has no children, gave me a giant smack-down on swim diapers and life jackets (common sense, right?) and now that I'm over the trauma of being the crazy mom who didn't realize the extreme importance of the swim diaper and swim trunks over the diaper (so the poop won't leak out). I am eternally grateful that it happened at the park and not our pool at home....a bit selfish, but hey, this was 10 inches of water and our pool is up to 10 feet deep...it would take days to fill that pool again.

I have also been rigorously instructed on the importance of the life jacket around any pool area. It teaches the child they are not allowed in the pool or area without the life jacket as they get older. Reading the statistics, you cannot be too safe with your child and water. Child drowning is a silent killer, there is no splashing or screaming...they simply go under and you hear nothing. The drownings occur within 5 minutes or less from the last time you saw you child, many times the last time you saw them it was inside the home. These guys are tricky and they can get "out" of the house so quickly. I didn't mean to be a buzz kill as this was suppposed to be a funny story...but I thought a bit of education to reinforce to myself how important the life jacket is around a home pool area as well as public areas. The swim diaper...common sense...now. One last defense...Max doesn't poop in the bath, why would I think he'd poop in the pool?