Hi all,
I am the president of my team, and we recently instituted a policy after having an increasing number of parents bringing children along to workout. (Usually in the case of both parents being swimmers, and one swims while the other watches the child, and then they switch off for the next workout.) We found a need to institute a policy after seeing a wide range of what parents considered to be acceptable behavior, and to be an acceptable level of supervision.
I am wondering if any of you would be willing to share any info about this subject at your team. I am wondering:
- Are members at your team allowed to bring children with them to workouts?
- Does your team have a written policy about this subject (for example, child must have an adult supervising them, child cannot be within a certain distance of the pool, etc.)? If so, can you share the wording of that policy?
Thanks for any info!
Parents
Former Member
For years in Texas I swam with a single parent. Every morning at 5:30 AM she would bring her young son to practice sleeping in her arms, then put him in a lounge chair on the side of the pool in his blanket, then she would swim. It was never an issue or problem and the team loved them both. Many mornings he would go swimming with us during cool down and everyone kept a close eye on him. He loved to daydream in the hot showers after practice, which make his Mom late for work, so I took on the responsibility of keeping him on track/time. Never did anyone on the team feel as though the kid was a problem in any way. Had the team not chipped in and welcomed this little boy, his mother would not have been able to swim.
For years in Texas I swam with a single parent. Every morning at 5:30 AM she would bring her young son to practice sleeping in her arms, then put him in a lounge chair on the side of the pool in his blanket, then she would swim. It was never an issue or problem and the team loved them both. Many mornings he would go swimming with us during cool down and everyone kept a close eye on him. He loved to daydream in the hot showers after practice, which make his Mom late for work, so I took on the responsibility of keeping him on track/time. Never did anyone on the team feel as though the kid was a problem in any way. Had the team not chipped in and welcomed this little boy, his mother would not have been able to swim.
