at what age do you stop supervising swimming pool?

[meemee]

dd who will be 8 in two weeks is a v. strong swimmer. when is it safe to stop supervising her. she has had a couple of incidents when she freaked out in the pool and figured out herself how to pull herself to the sides. the pool is deep in the middle but shallow on both sides.

i feel she is ready to be left alone, but mama guilt is holding me back. i find i am suffering from separation anxiety.

how did you all make this decision. leaving her alone to play in the bathtub alone also was a hard one for me.

one thing she does that has become second nature to her is sing when i am not in the room with her. if i had to dash out to get something i told her to keep on talking loudly or singing loudly so i could hear her as i left her alone in teh bathtub.

[LoveMyTwoBoys]

Can she swim from one side to the other with no problem? Or stop to float if she can't make it all the way? If she do one or the other I'd say she is ok for short periods of time.

My 5 yo is a very good swimmer as well. We don't have a big pool at home but when I take them to the public pool or lake, he is allowed to go as far as I can see him well while I stay in the shallow with DS2. They both play alone outside (fenced yard) in the little 8" deep pool but that is totally different.

Good luck with the decision. It sounds like a tough one.

[possum]

I might be misunderstanding the situation, but no one should swim alone. I grew up in a very water-oriented family, and no one ever swam alone, but my mother would pop in to refill her water or go to the bathroom when I was around 9 or 10 and my brother would have been 5 or 6 and we were in an in-ground pool. We were both very strong swimmers by then, and we knew how to help each other from the side or run for help if needed.

[Autumn Breeze]

Unless you're using a pool with lifeguards, never. And that goes for strong swimmers too. Accidents happen.

[VillageMom6]

Originally Posted by meemee

dd who will be 8 in two weeks is a v. strong swimmer. when is it safe to stop supervising her.

Never.

[leighi123]

Originally Posted by LoveMyTwoBoys

Can she swim from one side to the other with no problem? Or stop to float if she can't make it all the way? If she do one or the other I'd say she is ok for short periods of time.

My ds could do this no problem last summer, just before he turned 2. He could also climb out on his own.

I didnt leave him alone last year, but this year for a couple min. at a time where I can see/hear him through the sliding glass doors, I was ok with that.

He could swim (well) before he could walk though and is in the pool every day.

ETA: I was allowed to go to the pool alone when I was in kindergarden. We lived in a building with 6 'apartments' and the pool was down a set of stairs at the bottom of a hill at the bottom of the building (we lived on the top floor). I was allowed to go alone as soon as I was tall enough to 'touch' in the whole pool, which was a giant above ground with a deck around it so not very deep.

[zebra15]

In AZ we have a campaign called '2 seconds is too long' Meaning 2 seconds with adult eyes off the water is too long. No one should ever go swimming alone. This situation is just a tragedy just waiting to happen - even if the can touch the bottom of the pool. Panic, a hit head on the side of the pool, freak accident, health issue, ANYTHING can happen, the filter can malfunction, a freak bee sting... you just dont know.
Leaving a child or anyone is a chance you do not take.

Water safety is something I take very very seriously.

[Pumpkin_Pie]

I wouldn't do it either, and my DS is an extremely stong swimmer, even at 3.5. Just grab a book and go with her.

[hermionesmum]

Assuming you are using a pool with lifeguard cover and she could swim the length of it I think you are fine. Our local pool rule is that kids can be unsupervised at 8 and my eldest enjoys going with her friends. I don't think we're far away from her being mortified at me going with her, actually.
Our local pool have lots of fun sessions aimed at older kids/teenagers with inflatables, disco music mats etc. which she really appreciates. (and I do to, comfortable with the level of lifeguarding letting her go with friends is a lot cheaper than a family outing.)

[Attached2Elijah]

Sorry, but at 8 years old, you should still be with her whether the pool has a lifeguard or not. I was a lifeguard/swim coach until 20 years of age. There's not one of us out there that can watch every child in the pool at every second. My children are extremely strong swimmers (water safety is one of the most important things to me) and I will not leave them unsupervised in water until they are at least 13 to 14 years of age and even then, they should be with someone else. It only takes a second to get too winded and go under. Even the strongest of swimmers can have accidents. 8 years old is just too young to understand the consequences of unsafe water play.

[velochic]

Assuming they are a strong swimmer... when they can drive themselves to the pool and back. I think kids, up to the teen years need adult supervision in addition to lifeguard supervision. Kids can get goofy in a pool, playing around, and it's not about how strong of a swimmer you are. We just had a kid in our county (well, my hometown's county, not where I'm living now) drown this summer who was 12 and on the summer swim team - he and a friend were goofing off in his home pool and the mom was otherwise occupied.

To be clear - I think swimming alone is always risky no matter the ability or age. All kids need the eyes of lifeguards and the parents at pools.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I am with a PP that no one should EVER swim alone. ALWAYS have someone near by. Accidents happen, whether you are an olympic swimmer or not. Tripping/slipping and rolling into the pool is possible for anyone, no matter how strong a swimmer they are.

If anyone watching my kids ever let them swim unsupervised, Heads will roll.

[chel]

we've been traveling alot and all the hotel pools have signs saying no swimming alone

i agree w pp, no one swims alone

[happysmileylady]

I also don't think ANYONE should ever swim 100% alone. Anyone, adult or child, strong swimmer or only able to be in water they can stand in, should swim with others around. I don't think that any of those others need to be a lifeguard or anything, but to me, it's a safety in numbers thing. It's just like not walking down a dark ally at night alone, even in a safe area.

Now, I think being ALONE is different from being UNSUPERVISED. And to be unsupervised, I think somewhere around 8, 9, or 10, depending on swimming ability. And also depending on just how unsupervised. Group of 8 year olds in the pool in the backyard while mom works in the garden around the side yard, no problem. Two 8 year olds in the pool in the back yard while mom is inside taking a nap, not so much. But, in general, I do agree that at the age of 8, as a strong swimmer, she likely doesn't need mom to sit right there on the deck to watch her.

[Sarahfeena]

I grew up with an inground pool in the backyard, and the house rule was that NO ONE swam alone, ever. Not the kids, not teenagers, not adults. You never know what might happen to incapacitate someone.

[philomom]

Never. No one swims alone.

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by meemee

dd who will be 8 in two weeks is a v. strong swimmer. when is it safe to stop supervising her. she has had a couple of incidents when she freaked out in the pool and figured out herself how to pull herself to the sides. the pool is deep in the middle but shallow on both sides.

i feel she is ready to be left alone, but mama guilt is holding me back. i find i am suffering from separation anxiety.

NO WAY! I'm sorry, but no matter how strong of a swimmer she may be, SOMEONE should be keeping an eye. My two are 16 and 18, and I keep an eye out when they're in the pool. An ADULT shouldn't be swimming alone. My parents still watch out for one another when one is in the pool. I may not be right there, but I make a point of being somewhere where I can check on them very frequently.

[midnightwriter]

In our public pool children 8 and older don't have to have a parent in the water with them.

[confustication]

Our public pool allows age 5 and up without an adult. It drives me NUTS as it is completely inappropriate.

No one should ever swim alone.

My daughter is also eight, and just the thought of letting her swim unsupervised leaves my skin crawling. I'm a lifeguard and WSI, I have tried to ensure that my daughter was a strong swimmer, and she is, but you can't prevent a cramp or something of that sort by being a strong swimmer.

[GoBecGo]

Another vote for never, i keep an eye on DH when we swim and he's 39! I would say at 8 i wouldn't have to be right with her in the water, but certainly right there on the side.