Swimming with the kids!
1. Never let them be more undressed than you. Even if this means going to the pool with them in their pants, trousers, t-shirts, jumpers, socks, shoes, rain coats, waterproof trousers, gloves, hats and scarves (even in summer) and you in just your swimsuit and flip flops.
2. Fight and stand your ground for the biggest cubicle! And if someone less encumbered than you beats you to it then go in the cubicle next to them. Keep saying very loudly to the children how inconsiderate other people are. Deliberately bang your knee and elbow on the dividing wall and scream with pain every few minutes. 'Accidently' kick an open dirt nappy under the cubicle and (sincerely) apologise!
3. Bring a buggy! I load everything on to the buggy and wheel it on to pool side as just HATE faffing about with lockers that are too small. And then once you have finally jammed the last shoe in you find the lock doesn't work or the wristband with the key on has broken.
4. Take a family trip to the loo and make them all go before entering the pool. I usually dehydrate them well for a few hours first too.
5. Whilst swimming try not to lose any of them. I have told my children that sharks live in the deep end and they really like bright orange armbands so best to stay in the shallow end.
6. Don't EVER turn you back on your child that is standing on the side. This can lead to him / her painfully jumping on your head or getting a foot stuck down the back of your swim suit.
7. Make sure you have a swim suit that goes up to the neck and is tight. My kids just love to expose me in the shallow end whilst claiming they are drowning.
8. When leaving the pool, tie them altogether to make sure you don't leave one behind or that one doesn't do a runner and throw themselves back in.
9. Never let them be more dressed than you (especially if they can walk). I sit them on the bench with their towels on, shivering, and make them wait until I am totally dressed. Cruel I know but I have learnt the hard way. Having dressed my kids first they then opened the door to expose my total nakedness, one leg on the bench drying myself, to not only the people in the changing room but to the life guard on poolside! Having not learnt my lesson the first time, I was in a similar scenario a few weeks later that had me grabbing for a towel to run naked to poolside to stop the 2 year old throwing herself in. Sadly the towel I grabbed was a small hand towel for my hair. It didn't quite do the job of covering me adequately.
10. Bribery - especially after-swimming sweets!! Use it, abuse it and get the best behaved kids!
Happy swimming. X
hahaha! Please tell me you don't take all 4 by yourself? I have still chickened out of taking 3 without hubby in tow... actually not true, I have chickened out of swimming since baba was born - ostensibly cos she hates water - tho we all had great fun swimming in the sea off Shanagarry strand this weekend. Much easier than swimming pools. Much. Just massive sand consumption to do battle with.
ReplyDeleteYes braved it a long time ago! Had to be done so the others didn't miss out. I spend most of the time head counting!! The best bit is getting them dressed. I have it down to a fine art. I sit each one on the bench and dry each one, put a t-shirt on each one, then pants, then trousers...etc... so they are all at the same point of dressness. Then whilst I'm gathering up the togs and towels they shut each other in the lockers. Happy days! Some pools have rules about ratios of non swimmers to adults.
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