8 year old boy and swimming changing facilities

bestpud

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Agree with this, although I would want the family changing rooms to have cubicles as I do not want to get changed in front of anyone else's family!

Also, presumably there would be adults and children of both sexes present, I think unless there are cubicles, getting changed communally would be even more unwholesome than having single-sex changing areas.

How much effort/cost does it take to stick a few cubicles in?

Exactly, they just need to provide a few bigger cubicles.

nottslass_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Agree with this, although I would want the family changing rooms to have cubicles as I do not want to get changed in front of anyone else's family!

Also, presumably there would be adults and children of both sexes present, I think unless there are cubicles, getting changed communally would be even more unwholesome than having single-sex changing areas.

How much effort/cost does it take to stick a few cubicles in?

With the help of a large towel its quite possible to get changed without displaying your wobbly bits to a room full of total strangers !

thriftmonster

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

I kind of think you're being overprotective - sorry.

I think so long as you're going at times when it's reasonably busy (which is all the time in our gym) he is safe. I can't think of any time when I've been in the changing rooms and have been with only one other person. There are also often attendants about and if you're worried you could ask for the first couple of times if an attendant could pop in just to check he's okay. Also again for your own peace of mind you might want to have a chat with him about appropriate behaviour etc.

In my book too at 8 boys are old enough to be curious about womens bodies and this is pretty unpleasant if you are trying to get changed. It's not that they mean anything by it of course but it isn't nice to be on the other side of it.

I agree with this and Becles. My 2 boys have changed in the mens changing room since they were 6/7 - our pool is busy and TBH it's not the feelings of the women in the changing room - but what about those of 10/11 year old girls - who would be mortified at an 8yo watching them. Our pool has only open areas for changing so the chance of anyone making a move on the boys is minimal and anyone doing so would probably be flattened by another Dad.

SSB

My son has been going to the changing room on his own since he was 8 (he is nearly 10 now) and I never worried about his safety. A vast majority of children are harmed and abused by their carers/parents and the chances of something unpleasant happening in a public place is very remote.

Imp

What's gone wrong with the world that no-body trusts anybody. I remember when I was at junior school getting on the bus with my older sister, who was also at junior school, one evening a week and going to the local swimming pool for lessons, and getting back again safely, even in the dark winter evenings. I always went into the male changing room. I wouldn't have been allowed in the female changing room. I must have been about 8 because I could swim when I joined the cub scouts.

There are fewer risks to children now than there used to be because people are more aware of the risks. I know its difficult to start to give the kids some independance, but what are you going to do when they reach secondary school and have to get there on their own, by bus or bike? If you don't expose them to controlable risks at a young age, they will be less able to deal with risks when they are older and you are not able to contol them.

dad-of-4

nottslass wrote: »

OK, there are lots of valid points on all sides, but has anybody thought of the other aspects of safety here ? Not all 8 year olds can swim yet, so surely any parent would be reluctant to leave their young child.unsupervised at the pool side,whilst they get themselves and other children ready !

Surely 10 or 11 would be a more realistic age

I can honestly say i have never been taken swimming with a parent or adult supervising, other than the weekly trip with school.

the little pool was some where to go when you got cold, and we were forever getting thrown out of the deep end of the big pool way before any of us could swim we would be sneaking upto the deep end and jumping in hoping we would be able to touch the bottom, time in the shallow end at 1 meter would mean being neck deep in water, being able to duck dive and touch the bottom with a hand was a majour achievement.:rotfl:

I learnt to swim after being turfed of a big truck innertube at a funswim by a big boy in the deepend, and it was a case of swim or drown.

i can remeber going home proud as anything and telling my mum what happened and that i can swim now.

Spendless

The reason I wouldn't feel comfortable with allowing my son to change on his own, is because i cannot go into the mens changing rooms and suss them out out first. I have no idea when I send him in if there's loads of people about or a member of staff or just 1 slightly shifty looking bloke acting a bit strangely, something i would pick up on but I'm not sure my son currently would.

If there was no alternative to him going in on his own then I'd be happier if the area was communal or if I'd had 2 boys and they could go in together.

iceicebaby

My local swimming pool also has this rule. However they have helped parents by at times when the family swim is on, they have a female attendant in the ladies and a male attendant in the gents who is there just to make sure all the younger kids are ok changing and to stop any messing about by the bigger kids. They will assist a if a child needs help, not by helping them change as they arent allowed to do that but they will go and alert the parents and are there to just keep an eye on things

hewhoisnotintheknow

i would just check that there are plenty of other people in there, if not ask another family man or life guard to keep an eye on him

hewhoisnotintheknow

im not being negative, but there is a lot of hysteria about these days.

children are loads more likely to be abused by someone they know