Toddlers Not Wearing Swim Diapers

[TinkerbellMama]

Just a quick question...
My two year old son is out of diapers. I am wondering if anyone has ever had to deal with someone questioning why a toddler is not wearing a swim diaper in the WDW pools? We are going in September and will be staying at ASMo. Obviously, I would be happy to explain that he never wears diapers and is in fact completely potty learned, but will that do the trick? I just want to be prepared in case we are questioned. Thanks!

 

[tanyaandallie]

I have no idea what the policy at Disney is, but some pools have a policy that under a certain age (3 at my dd's swim lessons) a child has to wear a swim dipe regardless if they are pt or not. This will be an issue for us as my 2 year old is pl right now and will likely be well out of dipes before 3. But, it's their policy and they said if he doesn't wear one, he doesn't get in the pool.

Now, imo, it's doubtful that even if the rule is the same at Disney that a lifeguard is going to come track you down and tell you to put a dipe on your kid. Most would have a hard enough time determining if your child was 2 or 3 so I would think this is likely not a huge issue.

 

[lg3]

As long as he doesn't have any accidents, more power to you . I wouldn't think it would be a huge issue. Hopefully those thoughtful parents are watching their own kiddo's and don't have time to question others.
Our local Y just established a policy this month that any child 3 or under must wear swim diapers in the pool no matter what. They do sell them for $1 at the front desk in case you need one. I can see in a public pool it truly is a big deal to shut everything down and clean comletely.

 

[TheDisneyClan]

Our 18 month old daughter is potty trained which is a month sooner than our 6 year old daughter was. Disney will not say a word to you or hassle you in any way. You always have to be prepared for a trouble-making nosey guest, but usually a simple, firm, mind your own business does the trick.

 

[LuvOrlando]

If it were me I'd probably just put one on to avoid trouble. Its only a few days after all and diapers aren't all that expensive.

Most places have an age threshold for going without the diapers because all kids at that age are suseptible to having an accident. Nothing is worse than being dragged out of the pool because a toilet trained kid got overstimulated and made a mistake It happens ALL THE TIME and is why there are age requirements.

Another reason to do it is to avoid the dirty looks you are destined to get from other parents who notice your child doesn't have one on while in the pool. Believe me, its gonna happen. As for me, if I saw a kid without one I'd pull my kids out of the pool ASAP. Its like seeing a food service employee washing hands after using the bathroom, maybe his/her hands are clean but the people around them want to see them wash up just the same.

 

[TheDisneyClan]

If it were me I'd probably just put one on to avoid trouble. Its only a few days after all and diapers aren't all that expensive.

Most places have an age threshold for going without the diapers because all kids at that age are suseptible to having an accident. Nothing is worse than being dragged out of the pool because a toilet trained kid got overstimulated and made a mistake It happens ALL THE TIME and is why there are age requirements.

Another reason to do it is to avoid the dirty looks you are destined to get from other parents who notice your child doesn't have one on while in the pool. Believe me, its gonna happen. As for me, if I saw a kid without one I'd pull my kids out of the pool ASAP. Its like seeing a food service employee washing hands after using the bathroom, maybe his/her hands are clean but the people around them want to see them wash up just the same.

Who cares if you get dirty looks?? Again, not going to alter my life just because someone has a case of not being able to mind their own business.

Maybe your children are different, but I am not explaining to my daughter (who is sooooo proud of the fact that she is big girl and is sooo pround she no longer wears baby diapers) that she must put one on to make the crowd happy..

The very first penny ever coined by the United States had the slogan "MIND YOUR BUSINESS" printed on. Wish I had a pocket full of them to hand out to the many folks who could use that lesson.

Serioulsy though, we ever only had one woman say anything. She was upset that her 4 year old had on the swim diapers and our baby did not. Personally I think she was more upset that her 4 year old was not potty trained.

Honestly, don't worry about. Nobody is going to hassle you.

I am much more worried about toilet trained adults having accidents than I am toilet trained children anyway!

 

[Starr W.]

They did close the baby pool at VWL for awhile one day during our trip(got back on Tuesday). Don't know what it was for, but they had it opened the next day. My youngest was really upset when he didn't need to wear the swim diaper anymore.

 

[bumbershoot]

We finally "called it" that DS was done with dipes at 2.5. But he'd been without poop incident since he was 18 months. And he NEVER had any sort of poop incident in pools (something about the water just stopped any urge, it seemed) when he was wearing swim dipes.


The YMCA comments have now made me realize I will have to ask about that, when we're thinking of joining. If they do have that requirement, they will NOT get my money. It's nonsense. And especially if we have future children, I will be doing "elimination communication" (in other words, what many cultures in the world do with their children naturally) much more with them (I was tired and lazy with DS and relied too much on his (cloth) dipes), and they will likely not need any diapers even younger than DS. knock wood. And while I would use a swim dipe until I was absolutely positively sure they didn't need them, I could not have any silly company telling me to make my kiddo wear something they don't need.



I've noticed that the people who look strangely at me while taking DS to the bathrooms, or that notice he's in underpants, etc, are the ones with much older children who are still wearing dipes. I don't feel negative towards that, I really feel for that situation, and just smile and move DS into the bathroom stall.

But I wouldn't even worry for a second about what others might say, with your totally potty-learned kiddo not needing to wear swim dipes.

 

[jodifla]

We finally "called it" that DS was done with dipes at 2.5. But he'd been without poop incident since he was 18 months. And he NEVER had any sort of poop incident in pools (something about the water just stopped any urge, it seemed) when he was wearing swim dipes.


The YMCA comments have now made me realize I will have to ask about that, when we're thinking of joining. If they do have that requirement, they will NOT get my money. It's nonsense. And especially if we have future children, I will be doing "elimination communication" (in other words, what many cultures in the world do with their children naturally) much more with them (I was tired and lazy with DS and relied too much on his (cloth) dipes), and they will likely not need any diapers even younger than DS. knock wood. And while I would use a swim dipe until I was absolutely positively sure they didn't need them, I could not have any silly company telling me to make my kiddo wear something they don't need.



I've noticed that the people who look strangely at me while taking DS to the bathrooms, or that notice he's in underpants, etc, are the ones with much older children who are still wearing dipes. I don't feel negative towards that, I really feel for that situation, and just smile and move DS into the bathroom stall.

But I wouldn't even worry for a second about what others might say, with your totally potty-learned kiddo not needing to wear swim dipes.

You'll not be swimming it a lot of places, then, because lots are going to having all kids under a certain age in swim diapers.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I wouldn't put a swim diaper on my kid if they were fully potty trained. I'm not passing judgement on anyone else, but I just think it would be demeaning and demoralizing to a kid who worked so hard to get out of diapers to be thrown back into one to make complete strangers happy.

If folks around me gave dirty looks, well, that's their problem. Your always going to have someone that just can't help themselves where they feel they have to bestow their unbridled wisdom on you with the nasty comments or parenting advice. Where would we all be without those folks? Without getting loud or using expletives, I would just politely tell them their concern is appreciated, but their opinion is not one I share.

If it comes down to the cleanliness issue...those swim diapers don't keep everything 100% contained-and I've seen perfectly grown people pee in public pools (among other things). Disgusting, but true.

 

[jodifla]

Who cares if you get dirty looks?? Again, not going to alter my life just because someone has a case of not being able to mind their own business.

Maybe your children are different, but I am not explaining to my daughter (who is sooooo proud of the fact that she is big girl and is sooo pround she no longer wears baby diapers) that she must put one on to make the crowd happy..

The very first penny ever coined by the United States had the slogan "MIND YOUR BUSINESS" printed on. Wish I had a pocket full of them to hand out to the many folks who could use that lesson.

Serioulsy though, we ever only had one woman say anything. She was upset that her 4 year old had on the swim diapers and our baby did not. Personally I think she was more upset that her 4 year old was not potty trained.

Honestly, don't worry about. Nobody is going to hassle you.

I am much more worried about toilet trained adults having accidents than I am toilet trained children anyway!

I think you're being overly optimistic, if you've ever looked in the late afternoon in the Mickey Pool on DCL.

 

[jamesmommy]

If it comes down to the cleanliness issue...those swim diapers don't keep everything 100% contained-and I've seen perfectly grown people pee in public pools (among other things). Disgusting, but true.

Not saying that it is right to do so, but urine is sterile as a general rule, which is why swim diapers do not contain it and the pee just runs right out. Swim diapers are meant to contain the other potty item, the one they close pools for ....

Amie

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Not saying that it is right to do so, but urine is sterile as a general rule, which is why swim diapers do not contain it and the pee just runs right out. Swim diapers are meant to contain the other potty item, the one they close pools for ....

Amie

Absolutely! And I think the parents should be the judge if their child is trained or not. If you know your child is newly trained or prone to accidents, then common decency would have you putting a swim diaper on them, but not if they have proven to be accident-free and trained for a while. I just don't think age should be a determining factor. On the other hand if there was a strict rule concerning swim diapers, I am not a complainer or whiner, I'd abide by the rules if me and my family wanted to partake.

 

[starbox]

I had trouble with both of my totally potty-trained and accident-free-at-home kids when we took them each to Disney at age 3. They were so thrilled and happy and excited that they did not want to stop what they were doing to go potty.

I kept them in swim diapers a full year post-potty-training because I knew they'd try to hold it so they could just keep swimming.

 

[jamesmommy]

I had trouble with both of my totally potty-trained and accident-free-at-home kids when we took them each to Disney at age 3. They were so thrilled and happy and excited that they did not want to stop what they were doing to go potty.

I kept them in swim diapers a full year post-potty-training because I knew they'd try to hold it so they could just keep swimming.

I agree. And I really don't see why a child would be humiliated if the think that swim diapers are just part of the normal swimming "attire", as my son did.


Amie

 

[NotUrsula]

Just put your child in a swimsuit that has nicely tight elastic around the leg openings. You will protect against BM accidents and no one will say a word.

The only time a lifeguard will call you down is for a naked baby; that *is* against policy.

 

[twinspluscade]

None of my kids were potty trained by the age of 3 so I never had to deal with this, but IMHO it is absolutely ridiculous to put a swim diaper on a fully potty-trained two year old. I have never heard of a pool stating that kids under 3 must be in swin diaper even if potty trained. I know our community one certainly doesn't. I would love to see someone post a picture on here stating WDW has this policy for potty-trained under 3's.

OP, I wouldn't worry about not putting a swim diaper on your little one. Chances are, most people won't notice if he's wearing one or not (I certainly wouldn't--too busy watching my own kids). Plus how are people going to know if he's under the age of 3--I know teeny tiny 4 year olds the size of the average two year old--for all they know, your son could be 3 and just small for his age.

 

[Reese]

We stayed at the Nick hotel last year and their policy was anyone under the age of four had to wear a swim diaper. DS was two and had been potty trained for awhile at that point. We bought him some Nemo swim diapers before we left and said they were special swimming underwear. This way we just popped them on under his swimsuit-no trauma involved.

 

[Hannathy]

I wouldn't put one on a trained child, no way. First who is going to have them if their child is trained. And I would not be wasting my money buying a package for no good reason. It comes down to not being able to trust people to have common sense once again and wear them if needed so they come up with these stupid rules. My DD was also trained at 18 mos and I took her into many pools without a swim diaper. Thinking about it my DS was a bit over 2 and fully trained when we went to BB and he did not wear a swim diaper, nor did any CM say anything.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My dd was completely potty trained for 11 months before we went to Disney last November -- she was not yet 3 years old when we went and I didn't even consider putting her in a diaper of any sort by that point. We were never questioned about why she didn't have a swim diaper on. If your child don't have accidents, then don't worry about it -- put on the swimsuit and go on. I think the warnings at most pools pertain to children who are not potty trained and may poop in the pool causing a bacterial hazard.

She also has been swimming at the YMCA, the local rec center and several hotels with indoor pools over the last year and I have never been asked to put a diaper on her.