Post by thebreakfastclub on Aug 3, 2015 9:49:51 GMT -5
I have spent a lot of time at the pool this summer while unemployed. I have seen a lot of early elementary kids who have very little swim ability. They have to test to use the diving board and slide. A lot of them think they are ready for deep water swimming and they fail the test terribly. I do think it's important to talk to each parent so you know what you are getting into with the mix of kids.
Hmm. I'm a nervous nelly around water, and my kid is not a strong swimmer yet so I would probably want to stay. But, if it's just three kids, and you and your H would be in the water with them, I would drop off if you said it was drop off. I'd worry the whole time though, haha.
I have spent a lot of time at the pool this summer while unemployed. I have seen a lot of early elementary kids who have very little swim ability. They have to test to use the diving board and slide. A lot of them think they are ready for deep water swimming and they fail the test terribly. I do think it's important to talk to each parent so you know what you are getting into with the mix of kids.
This is why I would be so worried. "My kid can swim" is so subjective. I'm obsessed with water safety/lessons though. I'd probably have my own version of the deep water test at my home pool, LOL.
Jack just passed his dive board test this week. I was like waaaahhhh no way dude.
So we took him on Saturday to see him in action. He totally was doing it and swimming well to the side.
I had to get over a big hurdle when we enrolled him in summer camp. Knowing your kid is at a public pool everyday is hard to swallow at first even when there are lifeguards and camps staff. No one's purpose was to watch just him. Thankfully it has gone great.
Jack just passed his dive board test this week. I was like waaaahhhh no way dude.
So we took him on Saturday to see him in action. He totally was doing it and swimming well to the side.
I had to get over a big hurdle when we enrolled him in summer camp. Knowing your kid is at a public pool everyday is hard to swallow at first even when there are lifeguards and camps staff. No one's purpose was to watch just him. Thankfully it has gone great.
Letting my older daughter swim with friends at their house has been a major hurdle of mine as well. I have anxiety issues and one of my friends who is a psychologist sent me an article about doing things out of your comfort zone to try to get past anxiety that is not logical. While water safety is a very logical anxiety producer, my oldest has been in lessons continually for about 5 years, and passed her advanced class this summer and was deemed "swim team ready". She also passed her deep water when she was 5. I forced myself to let go a little and let her swim with parents I knew would be supervising and she's done great.
Honestly, yeah. I'm envisioning 2 hours on a Saturday, including lunch. With 2-3 boys, totally NBD. Add in parents, and then I know a few of the boys have siblings, and all of a sudden it's a full-blown party. Not what I want to get into for a last-minute GTG.
I think I will just make it clear it's a drop-off thing and let parents self-select out if necessary. It's such short notice that I'm anticipating a few may not be able to make it anyway.
Call it a play date then, not a party, and only invite 2 or 3 boys.
I was thinking the same thing. To me, "party" implies 10-ish kids, which I think would be more difficult to supervise with only two adults present. For 2 or 3 kids, I think playdate is a better way to put it.
Really, though, I would be happy to send my 7 y.o. to a pool playdate OR party. Meanwhile my 5 y.o. is just as good a swimmer but lacks the maturity for me to trust her at a pool without me.
I am actually having two 7 y.o. friends over for a pool playdate next week, and it will be just be me and my MIL there.
Post by mom2twoboys on Aug 3, 2015 10:44:20 GMT -5
Could you hire a lifeguard? We had several pool parties and there was always one so the parents didn't have to watch their kids like a hawk. Water and keeping up with kids is scary. I would only leave if there was a lifeguard or I knew the parents really well.
I prefer not to stay but as a parent of a 7 yo I understand when the hosts would like you to (especially when it comes to pool safety). If you don't want people to say, just indicate that it is drop off on the invitation! I love seeing that because then I don't feel guilty about not wanting to go
Yeah, for what you actually want to do, you need to stop using the word party. I'd send a group email to parents and say "Hi guys! The boys had so much fun together at DS's bday party, so I thought it might be fun to have Billy and Johnny over for a few hours of pool time on Sunday. If they are available/interested, I was thinking you could drop off around X, and pick them up at Y. Let me know if your kiddo will be there!"
I would not expect to or want to stay but my kids are strong swimmers. With just 2-3 kids I think it would be fine as long as you let parents know it's a drop off playdate. If they're not comfortable with this they can always decline to come.
If you are only talking 2-3 boys and then you and DH there to watch them, yes I would hands down drop off at that age. DS has a friend with a pool and we did this exact same thing right before second grade. There were 5 kids total - ds' friend and his older (9 at the time) sister who lived there, two other boys and one other girl. They were fine.
I would hire a lifeguard for a pool party with three kids exactly never. Like, wha?
I think you might get a parent who stays, but I'd be comfortable leaving L now (she's a strong swimmer).
I would not have three seven year old boys at my pool without their parents along too because that sounds like too much work and I am lazy. Maybe I would, but not if it massively cut into my afternoon beer time. I presume seven year old boys are wild in the pool.
I would hire a lifeguard for a pool party with three kids exactly never. Like, wha?
I think you might get a parent who stays, but I'd be comfortable leaving L now (she's a strong swimmer).
I would not have three seven year old boys at my pool without their parents along too because that sounds like too much work and I am lazy. Maybe I would, but not if it massively cut into my afternoon beer time. I presume seven year old boys are wild in the pool.
You get me.
I'm kicking them out at 1:30. Plenty of time left for beer!
N is 7, and more confident than competent when it comes to swimming. Even with only 2 other kids, I'd stay. I know all kids are different, and everyone has a different comfort level about this stuff, but given her current abilities, there's no way I'd be ok with dropping her off.
Kids and water just make me very nervous. And thinking about the liability aspect, even with only 3 kids, something could happen in the 3 minutes you run inside to grab snacks. I'd have a very clear talk with the other parents about the kids' swimming abilities, and while I don't know that I'd hire a lifeguard for only 3 kids, I would make sure that another adult was around so I could make sure that someone was always watching them when I'd need to run in for a few minutes here and there.