Water is a double edged sword when it comes to little ones. On the one hand, it's a great way to get them exhausted and let them have some fun. On the other hand, they need to be a certain age and proficiency at swimming before you really can relax, even a little, by the poolside. Pools kill more kids than guns. They are deathtraps. I say 'pool' instead of 'ocean' or 'lake' because as I've mentioned previously that I am not a camper at heart. (see my Hotel Camping entry.) I feel similarly about oceans and natural bodies of water, which are possibly worse with their unpredictable currents and hazardous sea creatures. I prefer to swim in chlorinated water. I like that calming fake blue color, the lack of sand between my toes, and a nice thick clean beach towel. I'm digressing. This is really about the kids. (Although, if it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't be fantasizing about being on a poolside vacation. So maybe it's really about me.)
I'm always initially excited to find that the kiddie pool is warm. Kids like warm water, plus then you worry less about them getting cold and coming up to you 3 hours later with their purple lips quivering. It always takes a few minutes for it to dawn on me that swim diapers only hold in solid waste, and that my kids are probably peeing in the pool as I watch them splash happily. It's not their fault. They're babies and can't control their bladders yet. Then as my brain slowly, reluctantly connects the dots, I look around and realize that all the other toddlers and infants are also wearing swim diapers, which are also (hopefully) holding in solid waste. And that that nice warm spot that I am wading through is really, in all likelihood, no matter how much I deny it, other kids' urine. Mixed with what I hope is a good amount of chlorine.
What are the options really? It's not like the sea creatures are eliminating anywhere else but in the ocean. Yeah, it's diluted, but still. There's dead stuff, whale poop, environmental contaminants, fish semen, you name it. I guess there's the bathtub, but that's boring and indoors. So, kiddie urine pool it is. My kids are well-vaccinated, urine is theoretically sterile. And after all, what are immune systems for? As long as they don't drink the pool water...
Water is a double edged sword when it comes to little ones. On the one hand, it's a great way to get them exhausted and let them have some fun. On the other hand, they need to be a certain age and proficiency at swimming before you really can relax, even a little, by the poolside. Pools kill more kids than guns. They are deathtraps. I say 'pool' instead of 'ocean' or 'lake' because as I've mentioned previously that I am not a camper at heart. (see my Hotel Camping entry.) I feel similarly about oceans and natural bodies of water, which are possibly worse with their unpredictable currents and hazardous sea creatures. I prefer to swim in chlorinated water. I like that calming fake blue color, the lack of sand between my toes, and a nice thick clean beach towel. I'm digressing. This is really about the kids. (Although, if it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't be fantasizing about being on a poolside vacation. So maybe it's really about me.)
I'm always initially excited to find that the kiddie pool is warm. Kids like warm water, plus then you worry less about them getting cold and coming up to you 3 hours later with their purple lips quivering. It always takes a few minutes for it to dawn on me that swim diapers only hold in solid waste, and that my kids are probably peeing in the pool as I watch them splash happily. It's not their fault. They're babies and can't control their bladders yet. Then as my brain slowly, reluctantly connects the dots, I look around and realize that all the other toddlers and infants are also wearing swim diapers, which are also (hopefully) holding in solid waste. And that that nice warm spot that I am wading through is really, in all likelihood, no matter how much I deny it, other kids' urine. Mixed with what I hope is a good amount of chlorine. 
