Teenagers and pools

[smilequeen]

As I’m sitting outside on a hot day, at what age would you feel comfortable supervising teens in a pool from inside? DS13 has a couple of friends swimming for his birthday. He’s the youngest so they are all 13 and most closer to 14. This is the view from my room. I’m outside but wondering.. 5077

[twowhat?]

Depends on the pool and the kids I think...our pool is smaller and does not have a deep end and I can see the entire pool water surface from the family room with nothing blocking my view of any part of the pool (the main central room in our house). I can see about 3/4 of the pool (which includes the deeper side which still is only 5 feet deep) from the kitchen. I'm totally OK with supervising from inside but I also make sure anyone who comes to swim knows the rules - no diving, no jumping in the shallowest end, no horseplay, buddy system ALWAYS (no swimming alone). They all know that one person must run inside and get an adult if there are any problems.

[jgenie]

I have two boys. I don’t know that I will ever be willing to let them swim alone. It only takes a second for them to make a dumb decision . With me sitting poolside it’s much less likeLy they’ll take risks.

[KpbS]

I have let my 15 yo swim with a couple of friends unsupervised, but one time he had two friends over who hadn't swam with us before and were kind of wild. If I know the kids and they've swam with us before, probably age 14+. That said, my 12 yo has two friends who I trust to swim without supervision, but I know these boys and they have swam quite a few times before.

[klwa]

I wouldn't at that age. I hope to be able to get DS in the Red Cross lifeguard certification program next year when he's 15. If he's had that, I'll feel better about letting him swim with friends without me outside.

[Gracemom]

I think it depends on the kids. My DD and her friends would be fine, but not my ds and his friends. They want to rough house and their judgement is not the best.

[AnnieW625]

I am not sure, but we are moving in two weeks to a house with a pool. Dd1 is 14. Both of my kids are strong swimmers, but myself and dh usually enjoy being outside so I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I will definitely look at red cross water training for DD1.

[mom2binsd]

Our high school requires a semester of swim, one of the classes is advanced aquatics and the kids can get red cross certified, it's 15.00 to get the certification plus the cost of the life guard fanny pack. Do other schools offer this (DD is also on swim team and the swim portion was easy), for two years she has been a life guard for the swim classed for her PE credit too.

For the OP, it eohkd deoend on the kids and how they typically behave. I would review rules etc and limit number of kids allowed in at once to maybe 4, depending on pool size when you are not out there.

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[SnuggleBuggles]

Our high school requires a semester of swim, one of the classes is advanced aquatics and the kids can get red cross certified, it's 15.00 to get the certification plus the cost of the life guard fanny pack. Do other schools offer this (DD is also on swim team and the swim portion was easy), for two years she has been a life guard for the swim classed for her PE credit too.

For the OP, it eohkd deoend on the kids and how they typically behave. I would review rules etc and limit number of kids allowed in at once to maybe 4, depending on pool size when you are not out there.

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Growing up our school swim classes (required) we’re tied to Red Cross levels but they stopped at the level before lifeguard. Somewhere along the way they must have parted ways because they no longer do any RC stuff.


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[smilequeen]

They were well behaved, but I stayed out there with them. Ended up getting a breeze in the shade, not so bad. I think my big things is that they are teens and don't need someone listening in on all of their conversations. My 9 year old, I sit directly poolside, but I kept a bit more distance with them.

I haven't let my 15 year old out there with a friend completely alone either. He has a lifesaving/first aid requirement for PE this year, but not sure how that will go if they end up changing to distance (right now they are in person for school, but our state is a disaster, so it will probably change).

[bisous]

I'm probably not the most help. I have had lifeguard training and if anything it makes me paranoid! My 16yo is a decent swimmer but not a great one (my kids have had a notoriously difficult time learning to swim!) He also has type 1 diabetes though and I feel like the pool/beach is my nemesis (disconnected from insulin device, continuous glucose sensor doesn't read in the water, he can have a hypoglycemic event and drown) etc. So he is going to be supervised as long as I can force myself upon him!

I think it probably depends on the kids involved? I don't know that I'll ever feel 100% ok with leaving minor aged kids alone while they are under my supervision.

[mmsmom]

DC are 11 and 13. I usually sit on porch for the younger ones. For the teens I can be inside but have a view from kitchen and family room. I mostly listen- not really to what they are saying but just the noise. You can tell when there is laughter and playing or when things might be amping up. I would probably let DS have more freedom around 14-15.

[essnce629]

My DS2 is 11 and is in the pool multiple times a week and I never sit out there. Usually he's just in the jacuzzi though reading a book or watching a show on his iPad. We have a Nest camera that overlooks the entire pool and I have that on my phone, computer, and Echo Show while he's out there so I can be in the kitchen, etc and still hear and see him. During quarantine, DH is working in our master bedroom which overlooks the pool so I make him have the curtains and shades open so he can see him, but I still watch him on the camera since DH is working. It's way too hot for me to sit outside for hours while DS is in the water. On the weekends I'm usually in the jacuzzi while he's in the pool. DS1 had a pool party for his 14th and 15th birthday with 5 friends and I didn't sit out there either.

[erosenst]

DD is 16. This is the first summer we've been ok being fully inside while she swims with a friend or two. We've worked up to this over the last few summers with increasingly less time outside/not always where we can see them.

At one point this summer she was in the pool with a friend, while I was working in my office upstairs. (View of pool but I wasn't checking often.) I did tell the friend specifically where I would be in case there was an issue.

We worry more about the deck - it's REALLY slippery. At some point, however, there are risks everywhere (can break ankle on the inside stairs, for example).