Swim safety- what's ok and what's not

amother

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 7:53 pm

My kids are at the age where they're getting invited to swim at their friends' houses. (We don't have a pool ourselves, but our kids do know how to swim.)

Would you check with the mother that she will be watching them? Is this very socially off to ask? Should I not care and do it anyway because perhaps some mothers won't?

Is it OK for an older sibling (like middle school age and up) to be the one watching them instead?

Is it OK if the parent is watching from inside?

thunderstorm

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 7:59 pm

I would only allow it if there was an adult watching the kids at the pool or a teen that is trained in life guarding and knows how to swim.

Last edited by thunderstorm on Sun, Jun 20 2021, 7:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Hibiscus

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 7:59 pm

An adult MUST be watching them at all times and not take her eyes off from the pool for even a second. Kids should be taught pool safety like no rough play in the pool, no running near the pool, no touching other kids in the pool....

lucky14

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 8:20 pm

Yes I would 100% for sure ask! This is a life safety thing and I wouldn't worry about it being "socially off" or not (it shouldn't be btw). An adult or lifeguard should be watching. A middle school child is not good enough. I would not be OK with a parent watching from inside. Not for swimming.

amother

Peru

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 8:27 pm

I think you're getting to get a huge range of answers depending on where people are from.
We live in the south and my kids know how to swim when they are 2 and are deep water swimmers when they're 3. We own a pool and they swim about 4 times a week from June through September.
I'm obviously going to have a very different opinion than someone in the northeast (as I should being that my kids are much more experienced swimmers than theirs are)

amother

Jasmine

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 9:11 pm

As a pool owner and lifeguard I will say this. Absolutely find out who will be watching your child. It must be a trustworthy adult or lifeguard that will be watching the whole time. I don’t care how good of a swimmer your child is,
this is still necessary.
If you are uncomfortable having someone you don’t know watch your kid, offer to come along to watch them.
Lastly, I don’t actively trust all adults either. I’ve had people use my pool and the adult was busy on the phone the whole time with kids in the pool. (And no I wasn’t a creepy renter watching them swim. It was actually a neighbor I invited over )

amother

Honeydew

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 9:16 pm

The only way I'd allow it is if I could go there to watch my kid, or if there was a certified lifegaurd watching the pool every second. If after a couple times I saw that the mom was super responsible and she offered I'd maybe maybe allow her to watch my kid. But no middle schooler and definitely can't watch a pool full of kids from inside the house.

amother

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 9:51 pm

amother [ Brown ] wrote:

Your feeling, involvement, and opinion should be dependent on how much you like your kids.

Not on how much I trust them and how good their swimming skills are?

amother

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:18 pm

Also curious: is there at age at which you would feel comfortable having kids swim without adult supervision? Or a level of swimming skills? At some point, is "swim with a buddy" enough?

Optione

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:23 pm

Both times my daughter was invited to swim at someone's house, the mothers told me on their own that they're certified lifeguards. Otherwise, I think I'd nonchalantly all about supervision...

Librarian

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:23 pm

amother [ Peru ] wrote:

I am from the northeast. Took the deep water test at age 4. Earned my Lifeguard TRAINER certificate at 19. Won partial scholarship to NYU for Swimming. I own my own pool for 26 years. There is NO opinion here, just FACT. Children MUST be supervised at a pool at all times by an adult or by an adolescent who is a lifeguard. A pool should be locked at all times when not in use. There are no ifs, ands or buts. Does not matter where you live, how well your children swim! And, NO ONE should be swimming alone ever at all.

avrahamama

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:28 pm

amother [ Peru ] wrote:

I pulled a very good swimmer who is a child out of the water one summer. They were all swimming and a child kicked him in the stomach when he was swimming away. It knocked the wind out of him.

Kids need supervision. Even the good swimmers. When they're playing accidents can happen G forbid.

Librarian

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:30 pm

amother [ Peru ] wrote:

I am just beside myself from this post

amother

Hyssop

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:32 pm

Librarian wrote:

This this and a million times this

I don't care where you're from and how many times a week your deep-sea diver 4 year old swims, there is NO WAY children should EVER be left unattended in a pool for even a moment.

It's not about how well a child swim. Someone could get a cramp, anything can happen, and I really believe that even adult should have someone watching them- at least casually. (My 30- something completely healthy excellent swimmer cousin was found at the bottom of a pool...)

avrahamama

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:37 pm

amother [ Hyssop ] wrote:

My goodness how terrible I'm so so sorry.

Every summer I am both extremely jealous of pool owners and extremely grateful that I am not one.

What a responsibility! May we all have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Amarante

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:42 pm

I think it also depends on the circumstances of the actual swim.

Certainly an adult should be present and one who you trust to be responsible. However, how many kids is the adult watching. There have been quite a few drownings when there are a lot of kids swimming and this is with lots of adults theoretically watching the pool.

I personally wouldn't feel safe letting my kid swim at a pool party unless they were of a certain age and also had strong swimming skills. A kid who isn't a strong swimmer can drown if they happen to walk to a point where they are over their heads and no one might notice. Most older kids go swimming independently and aren't watched constantly - provided they actually know how to swim.

amother

Black

Sun, Jun 20 2021, 10:45 pm

amother [ Peru ] wrote:

I grew up in Miami, we were all swimmers and deep water swimmers at a young age, but we never ever went into the pool without an adult. Nothing to do with how experienced a swimmer one is, a child should never be in the pool without an adult, and even swimming alone isn’t really so safe.