I get it. We parents want to come to the pool and have our kids entertain themselves without our needing to be involved. We want to sit in a lounge chair, beverage in hand, reading a non-sense magazine or book or get the latest gossip from a friend via a real phone call. Trust me. I long for that. I'm jealous for that. I can see the other moms on the other side of the gate that are enjoying all of that, and conversing with real live adults while their kids frolic and play. Unfortunately, if your child is under the age of say 5 and hasn't mastered swimming in the big pool all alone, with confidence, your task is to watch over your child. Period. You are their personal prison guard. Embrace it!
We should all agree on some ground rules, ok?
First - Kids in this age bracket aren't naturally bent to share. Our job is to teach them to share. However, let's agree that in the baby pool there will be a warming up process before our little bit will be comfortable sharing with the strange kid who is hovering behind them, slowly easing their hands onto our little bit's toys. If you want to have a happy time at the pool - that's what I want for you - then you'll not be mad when I don't force my little H to hand over her tea cups immediately. She'll warm up, but you've gotta give her time or else I'm going to spend the entire time I'm at the pool listening to her scream and cry over a tea cup, and so will you! Your job is to help your child understand this dynamic. And if your mean girl kids say "We don't like you!" to my child who just wants to join in the tea pot pouring party with her own tea cups, don't expect me to encourage her to play. (This happened today and my response was probably very wrong, but if these little girls would say this to a 3 year old, what else would they say to her and why should she have to be subjected to that. Oh and these same little girls didn't mind taking one of her tea cups to play with when she went to the potty a few minutes later.)
Second - Let's help our kids understand personal space. Hovering children are super annoying. Parents of hovering children who are clueless and never attempt to help their precious baby to back away or give a little space - YOU are annoying, too! Your acknowledgement of the situation goes a long way. Your lack of acknowledgement is infuriating!
Third - Toys that spray, squirt, anything that can possibly get another child, unsuspecting adult, or personal property wet should not be brought to the baby pool and placed in the hands of the 5 and under crowd. If while you're reading your book in the corner, while your child is armed and dangerous and I get sprayed or my child gets sprayed, I will correct your child. I ain't skeered! These little people don't understand personal space, let alone have the mental capacity to understand that not everyone at the pool wants to be wet. Remember, you're holding a paper book in your hand.
Fourth - Your grown kids, say older than 5, do not belong in the baby pool. Mine have all been instructed that they are allowed to sit on the edge, but aren't to be in the pool unless I have given specific permission. They're too big and often in the 10 minutes during a rest break, kids who don't even have a sibling in the baby pool take it over. Just don't! Just tell them no! They aren't babies any more, even though many still act like they are. Large, awkward bodies mixed in a tiny area with small, awkward bodies is a recipe for disaster.
Fifth - Just because your kid is wearing swim wings or a life jacket in the baby pool, doesn't mean that the less than 2 feet of water in the baby pool isn't dangerous. They can fall over face first in the water and not know how to get back up in no time flat! They need your supervision and my supervision. It's a team sport. It's a village of mamas looking out for their own and the others around them, but don't depend solely on the village. As we all know, most villages have an idiot!
Young mamas, one day the pool will be fun for you. Just glance through the black wrought iron fence at all those mamas who don't even wear bathing suits to the pool or those mamas who put on their bikini, crank open the umbrella and sprawl out on a lounge chair with the latest New York Times best seller. One day you'll get there. One day I'll get there. It seems like an eternity away, but it will happen! I'll write another post for you then about your big kids who spray me with water guns or who block the walkway playing baseball and have to retrieve their stray ball from the baby pool. Regardless, your baby will one day be released from baby pool prison. They'll be free and so will you.
Until then, keep your head up and watch your kid! Embrace your role as a fellow prison guard!
