Non potty trained children and the pool

[mom2brooke76]

This bums me out since my son has been in swim lessons since 9 weeks old and I expect him to be swimming on his own (obviously with me in the pool too) by next summer when he is 21 months for our cruise, but oh well. I guess it makes sense. But, my question is, does this mean bigger kids are not allowed to use the splash pad? I hope so. There are always a ton of kids over 5 at our local one and they run over the little kids.

I believe the cut off age of the Nemo play area on the Dream is 8.

 

[Makayna]

I would think that it'd be MORE likely to get "waste" in the water WITHOUT swim diapers than with! I understand that they want to keep the pools clean so that they don't have to shut them down, but what this rule does is it forces parents whose children are pretty much potty trained to put their kids in the pool WITHOUT the diapers, and risk having an accident because they're not reliably potty trained yet. So, I just don't get the point of that rule.

I'd understand better if they set an AGE limit, like 3 or 4, instead of a potty trained or not potty trained because the way it's set up now is just ASKING for accidents in the pool!

 

[mom2brooke76]

I would think that it'd be MORE likely to get "waste" in the water WITHOUT swim diapers than with! I understand that they want to keep the pools clean so that they don't have to shut them down, but what this rule does is it forces parents whose children are pretty much potty trained to put their kids in the pool WITHOUT the diapers, and risk having an accident because they're not reliably potty trained yet. So, I just don't get the point of that rule.

I'd understand better if they set an AGE limit, like 3 or 4, instead of a potty trained or not potty trained because the way it's set up now is just ASKING for accidents in the pool!

It's even gross to think of people peeing in the pool, but of course we all knew older kids that did it all of the time growing up who were too lazy to get out to go to the bathroom

 

[taaren]

This bums me out since my son has been in swim lessons since 9 weeks old and I expect him to be swimming on his own (obviously with me in the pool too) by next summer when he is 21 months for our cruise, but oh well. I guess it makes sense. But, my question is, does this mean bigger kids are not allowed to use the splash pad? I hope so. There are always a ton of kids over 5 at our local one and they run over the little kids.

If you wanted to you could train your child to be potty trained before 21 months. I've read the target age is 22 months (unfortunately I read this when DS4 was already about 25 months), but it seems like if you want them to swim you could just move up potty training to a month before the cruise. When we potty trained DS we went 'commando' and followed a 3-day-potty training guide, which for us took a week since both DH and I work, but when it was done there were little to no accidents, so its totally do-able in a short period of time. I've heard of people potty training around 18 months, but in your situation I'd aim for 20!
Huzzah for taking your child to swimming lessons so early! DS4 has loved the water since infancy but we didn't put him in lessons until about a year ago He's the youngest in the class and while his skills have improved greatly (still working on the form of his strokes/breathing techniques) I feel bad for his instructor because he mostly wants to play and is still very unfocused as 4 year old boys are apt to be.

 

[Makayna]

Huzzah for taking your child to swimming lessons so early! DS4 has loved the water since infancy but we didn't put him in lessons until about a year ago He's the youngest in the class and while his skills have improved greatly (still working on the form of his strokes/breathing techniques) I feel bad for his instructor because he mostly wants to play and is still very unfocused as 4 year old boys are apt to be.

I taught swimming lessons as a part time job (in addition to my full time job) for about 8 years. The baby/toddler and the pre-school classes were the main ones I taught (but at various times, I taught ALL ages, including adults) and I could always tell, especially in the pre-school (3-5 year olds) which kids had had "mommy and me" lessons before, or had been taken to the pool a lot versus the ones that didn't. And watching those kids "grow up" in the lessons, the differences never totally caught up. If you don't get your kid in swimming lessons by the time he/she's 4 (5 at the latest), or at least take them to the pool a lot and make him/her put his/her face in the water to become comfortable with it, they will likely develop a "fear" of the water, especially putting their face in the water, that you're most likely never going to get over fully. Sure, I've seen kids who LOVE the water, but will not put their faces in the water or will hold their noses (bad, bad, bad) and those kids are SOOOOOOOOOO much harder to teach than kids who started off young in swimming lessons or their parents taking them to the pool a lot.

So, I also give kudos to you parents who put their kids in swimming lessons that young. It really, really, really does make a difference!

p.s. My parents put me in the "mommy and me" classes when I was 3 months old, so my love of water started early. I did swim team, water polo, lifeguarding, taught swimming lessons, etc... And I am SOOOOOOO thankful to them for getting me started so young!

 

[Weedy]

This bums me out since my son has been in swim lessons since 9 weeks old and I expect him to be swimming on his own (obviously with me in the pool too) by next summer when he is 21 months for our cruise, but oh well. I guess it makes sense. But, my question is, does this mean bigger kids are not allowed to use the splash pad? I hope so. There are always a ton of kids over 5 at our local one and they run over the little kids.

There is not real swimming in the Mickey Pool, it's very shallow. The pools are usually crowded, so it's more like bobbing for apples than swimming. Even if your toddler is a great swimmer I don't think the pools on the ships are good for swimming. The Goffy pool and Donald Pool are deeper but also crowded with kids jumming into the pools and not always looking where they are going.

 

[Makayna]

Are toddlers allowed in Mickey's pool? I know it's got a max depth of 2 feet, and the Disney cruise website says that Mickey's pool is for ages 0-3, so I assumed they would. But at a max depth of 2 feet, you could still have accidents, which would force them to shut down ALL pools due to the interconnected water filtration system. So, are they allowed in there?

 

[mom2brooke76]

Are toddlers allowed in Mickey's pool? I know it's got a max depth of 2 feet, and the Disney cruise website says that Mickey's pool is for ages 0-3, so I assumed they would. But at a max depth of 2 feet, you could still have accidents, which would force them to shut down ALL pools due to the interconnected water filtration system. So, are they allowed in there?

They're allowed in if they're totally potty trained. And does it just say ages 0-3? Most of the kids in the Mickey pool are much older than that. I'd say the average being in the 4-8 range (and some older).

 

[AZMermaid]

I taught swimming lessons as a part time job (in addition to my full time job) for about 8 years. :

I also taught swim lessons and coached swimming for many years through high school and college. I eventually was in charge of swim lessons for a large private pool. Every summer I would have kids (almost always boys) who were about 7-8 years old who couldn't swim show up for lessons. Now, this is AZ, so everyone has pool parties for their birthdays. These boys started getting invited to pool parties and now feel terribly ashamed that they can't swim. Always. Always. The mom would say "I tried it when he was 3 or 4 and he hated it so I took him out after 2 lessons." Then they would complain that he was placed in a class with the 3 year olds, when that was his level. I would try to coordinate one class time for all the older boys, but then they would complain that the time was no good.

My son had crazy colic. The only time he didn't cry was when we were at swim lessons. It helped that my local swim school offers free lessons for babies under 6 months, that is how strongly they believe in baby swimming. I am sure it gets more babies in the 6-18 month classes too! But, he is almost 8 months now, has NO issues going under, can glide (with my help) to the wall and grab it and just this week started holding onto the wall well enough to "hang there." It is great!

 

[Makayna]

I also taught swim lessons and coached swimming for many years through high school and college. I eventually was in charge of swim lessons for a large private pool. Every summer I would have kids (almost always boys) who were about 7-8 years old who couldn't swim show up for lessons. Now, this is AZ, so everyone has pool parties for their birthdays. These boys started getting invited to pool parties and now feel terribly ashamed that they can't swim. Always. Always. The mom would say "I tried it when he was 3 or 4 and he hated it so I took him out after 2 lessons." Then they would complain that he was placed in a class with the 3 year olds, when that was his level. I would try to coordinate one class time for all the older boys, but then they would complain that the time was no good.

My son had crazy colic. The only time he didn't cry was when we were at swim lessons. It helped that my local swim school offers free lessons for babies under 6 months, that is how strongly they believe in baby swimming. I am sure it gets more babies in the 6-18 month classes too! But, he is almost 8 months now, has NO issues going under, can glide (with my help) to the wall and grab it and just this week started holding onto the wall well enough to "hang there." It is great!

Kudos to you and your 8 mo. old!

Yep. I've heard that same excuse time after time as well. Or, "well, we DID one 6 or 8 class session, but quit after that." Most of the time, a kid's not going to learn after 6 or 8 lessons, and will *probably* need more than that to be CONFIDENT in his/her swimming abilities.

Sorry to derail the thread. Back to potty training.

 

[Makayna]

They're allowed in if they're totally potty trained. And does it just say ages 0-3? Most of the kids in the Mickey pool are much older than that. I'd say the average being in the 4-8 range (and some older).

From the DCL website:

Wonder
Mickey's Pool
Location: Disney Wonder
At a Glance
Location: Deck 9, Aft
Designed For: Children from 3 months to 3 years
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; please check the Personal Navigator while onboard for specific times.

Magic
Mickey's Pool
Location: Disney Magic
At a Glance
Location: Deck 9, Aft
Designed For: Children from 3 months to 3 years
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; please check the Personal Navigator while onboard for specific times.


Now, the Dream DOES say "kids" but on the Wonder and Magic, it says 3 months to 3 years.

 

[drparoo]

There are always exceptions, of course. My son wouldn't put his face under water until he was 6 or 7. He just qualified for States on his high school swim team this past February.

 

[drparoo]

From the DCL website:

Wonder
Mickey's Pool
Location: Disney Wonder
At a Glance
Location: Deck 9, Aft
Designed For: Children from 3 months to 3 years
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; please check the Personal Navigator while onboard for specific times.

Magic
Mickey's Pool
Location: Disney Magic
At a Glance
Location: Deck 9, Aft
Designed For: Children from 3 months to 3 years
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; please check the Personal Navigator while onboard for specific times.


Now, the Dream DOES say "kids" but on the Wonder and Magic, it says 3 months to 3 years.

Well, it says "Designed For" which means they think that age will have the most fun. It doesn't say it's limited to that age. Interesting.

 

[Makayna]

There are always exceptions, of course. My son wouldn't put his face under water until he was 6 or 7. He just qualified for States on his high school swim team this past February.

But I bet you didn't give up on him and kept working with him, right? A lot of parents will just give up and LET their kids hold their noses or not put their faces in the water, which just causes the kids to not like putting their faces in the water... so, they don't, and they often never swim well because of it.

But, like you said, there are ALWAYS exceptions! Congrats to your son for making it to states!

 

[mom2brooke76]

From the DCL website:

Wonder
Mickey's Pool
Location: Disney Wonder
At a Glance
Location: Deck 9, Aft
Designed For: Children from 3 months to 3 years
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; please check the Personal Navigator while onboard for specific times.

Magic
Mickey's Pool
Location: Disney Magic
At a Glance
Location: Deck 9, Aft
Designed For: Children from 3 months to 3 years
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; please check the Personal Navigator while onboard for specific times.


Now, the Dream DOES say "kids" but on the Wonder and Magic, it says 3 months to 3 years.

I honestly never noticed that before. The first time we were on the Wonder, dd was almost 4, and the next time she was nearly 6. Again, this past March on the Dream, also 6. Each time she went into the Mickey pool there were always much bigger kids than her in there and the CM's never said anything. That's just crazy that I never realized that! LOL Really, on the Wonder and Dream it was about the same, with a wide range of ages (I'd say less than 10 or under) in the Mickey pool.

 

[Makayna]

Well, it says "Designed For" which means they think that age will have the most fun. It doesn't say it's limited to that age. Interesting.

I didn't mean it was LIMITED to them... but if it's "designed for" kids 3 months to 3 years, but if they're not potty trained, they can't go in that pool, then how is it "designed" for them?!

 

[kcashner]

The rules did not originate with DCL. As noted on their web site, they are the rules of the US Public Health Service for cruise ships. Disney could probably choose to ignore these rules while in international waters as they are flagged in the Bahamas. However, as with most situations, DCL has chosen to follow US government regulations--at least to the point of posting the rules.

On the Magic and Wonder, there is a big sign by the Mickey pool clearly stating the same rules as on the web site, in addition to the usual "no running, jumping, etc." I will grant you that the enforcement is spotty.

 

[drparoo]

But I bet you didn't give up on him and kept working with him, right? A lot of parents will just give up and LET their kids hold their noses or not put their faces in the water, which just causes the kids to not like putting their faces in the water... so, they don't, and they often never swim well because of it.

But, like you said, there are ALWAYS exceptions! Congrats to your son for making it to states!

Well, his friends were on the neighborhood swim team, so he had peer pressure to join. Peer pressure can be more effective than parental pressure any day!!

 

[drparoo]

I didn't mean it was LIMITED to them... but if it's "designed for" kids 3 months to 3 years, but if they're not potty trained, they can't go in that pool, then how is it "designed" for them?!

Oh, duh, I thought this was describing the spray area. Never mind.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

I would think that it'd be MORE likely to get "waste" in the water WITHOUT swim diapers than with! I understand that they want to keep the pools clean so that they don't have to shut them down, but what this rule does is it forces parents whose children are pretty much potty trained to put their kids in the pool WITHOUT the diapers, and risk having an accident because they're not reliably potty trained yet. So, I just don't get the point of that rule.

I'd understand better if they set an AGE limit, like 3 or 4, instead of a potty trained or not potty trained because the way it's set up now is just ASKING for accidents in the pool!

I disagree with your believe that an age limit/requirement would avoid accidents; given that their are many kids with developmental/sensory issues an age requirement doesn't necessary mean a child is fully potty trained or won't have an accident.

A swim diaper doesn't prevent a kid from pooping or peeing in the pool- it just holds in the UFO. I can understand why some people wouldn't want to be in water that someone defecated in- be it they were aware of it or not.