Ah, the public pool—where overstimulated kids and frazzled parents come together to seek refuge from the hot summer sun. Unless you were lucky enough to have your own pool as a kid, you no doubt remember the quintessential public pool experience, which includes the playful shouts and laughter echoing off the hot concrete and the smells of chlorine and sunscreen wafting through the air. But if you think past those nostalgic aspects, you might also recall kids screaming their heads off, running full-speed across the hot concrete to make a big splash, and then committing bathroom atrocities in the water that soon replaced chlorine and sunscreen as the dominant smell in the air.
Unfortunately, manners often go right out the window in public spaces like the pool. To keep the poolside experience as enjoyable as possible, make sure you and your family follow these simple etiquette rules.
Don’t be a space hog.
If you have the desire to go swimming, chances are almost everybody else in your neighborhood does, too. Public pools are small to begin with, and they’ll seem that much smaller with everyone crowding around and spreading their possessions all over. Keep your stuff to a confined area, preferably a few feet away from other groups if possible. The rules of personal space always apply. And speaking of personal space, don’t ask members of the groups around you to apply sunscreen to your back. That might sound strange, but it does happen, and it’s awkward for almost everyone involved. Poolside neighbors are still strangers, even if you’ve already said hello and made chitchat about the weather.
Wear suits that are suitable for the public.
Your itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini might be perfect for a romantic beach getaway, but at the public pool, where people of all ages congregate, you might want to opt for something more conservative. The same goes for men and Speedos. Rules about suitable attire apply to the diaper set as well, but in a different way—babies should wear waterproof diapers in the pool.
Keep noise levels down.
A 2010 TripAdvisor survey found that “blasting loud music” nabbed the number-one spots for both most annoying and most common pool-etiquette violations. Bringing a portable radio to the pool isn’t a bad idea; in fact, the right tunes can really enhance an already fun experience. Just don’t force that experience on everyone else around you. If your kids and their high-pitched shrieks are responsible for the noise pollution, ask them to keep their volumes low, too. Again, it’s okay to make some noise at the pool—they’re kids and they’re having fun, after all—but there’s a difference between playful shouting and unnecessary screaming.
Make sure grime is confined to the bathroom.
There isn’t enough chlorine in the world to kill all of the germs that people bring into the public pool. More often than not, the bacteria coming from sweat, urine, and such mix with chlorine to create chloramines, which produce the chlorinelike smell that we associate with pools and make the water a bacteria free-for-all. To minimize the chances of this happening, always shower with soap and warm water before jumping into the pool. If you have kids, ask them to use the bathroom beforehand and to take bathroom breaks throughout the day, lest they use the pool as their personal toilet. Inconvenient as it might be, diaper changes need to happen in the bathroom, too. Germs and unpleasant smells belong far away from the pool.
Watch your kids.
Sounds simple, right? Except that if everyone did this, there wouldn’t be kids running around, splashing everybody, and making life difficult for the lifeguard and all other pool visitors. Lifeguards should not be responsible for disciplining children. They’re responsible for ensuring safety, which means that their attention should be focused on potential drowning victims and other hazards of swimming—not on kids who are acting up in the water. See to it that your kids follow the rules of the public pool, like walking instead of running on the concrete and not rough-housing in the water, so that the lifeguard is free to prevent anything more dangerous from happening. Remember that both younger and older children can misbehave; as a parent, you’re in charge of keeping your kids polite and respectful.
