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!
At the pool that I swam at and work out, we had a similar problem. At one point a few years ago, there were as many as eight women bringing their children to Masters practice where they expected the coach to watch the children. All of these children were young and so were strapped into baby carriers, but the poor coach would be stressed trying to calm crying babies. Other mothers were bringing playpens for the children to play in, but this entire situation was not a good situation. There were lap swimmers that would leave their children in baby carriers at the end of the lane while they swam. Finally, the pool directors passed a rule that unattended children were not allowed to be on deck. As a coach myself, I am greatful for this rule. As a coach and a lifeguard, I should not be responsible for unattended children on the deck. As a coach, I want to put my energies into providing a good workout and helping with technique, not babysitting. Children should not be brought to workouts.
The mothers on the team have developed strategies for dealing with this new rule. One mother will watch the children for the practice and then the other mother will watch the children while the first mother does the workout. Their is a daycare nearby that has reasonable rates for an hour or two of daycare. Some mothers have formed groups so two of the mothers will swim Mon., Wed, and Fri and babysit the other children on the other days so that the other mothers can swim Tues, Thurs, Sat.
At the pool that I swam at and work out, we had a similar problem. At one point a few years ago, there were as many as eight women bringing their children to Masters practice where they expected the coach to watch the children. All of these children were young and so were strapped into baby carriers, but the poor coach would be stressed trying to calm crying babies. Other mothers were bringing playpens for the children to play in, but this entire situation was not a good situation. There were lap swimmers that would leave their children in baby carriers at the end of the lane while they swam. Finally, the pool directors passed a rule that unattended children were not allowed to be on deck. As a coach myself, I am greatful for this rule. As a coach and a lifeguard, I should not be responsible for unattended children on the deck. As a coach, I want to put my energies into providing a good workout and helping with technique, not babysitting. Children should not be brought to workouts.
The mothers on the team have developed strategies for dealing with this new rule. One mother will watch the children for the practice and then the other mother will watch the children while the first mother does the workout. Their is a daycare nearby that has reasonable rates for an hour or two of daycare. Some mothers have formed groups so two of the mothers will swim Mon., Wed, and Fri and babysit the other children on the other days so that the other mothers can swim Tues, Thurs, Sat.
