“Poo-ool! Poo-ool!” Annabelle shouts as she puts one leg into her swimsuit, balancing her weight against my shoulder. After paying an arm and a leg to become members at our neighborhood pool, we’ve been making an effort to stop in for a daily splash. Annabelle tromps through the water, holding her head under fountains, and filling buckets with water to use in the sandbox, and I hover, always just a step away from her, just in case . . . the pool is a glorious escape from the heat and a nerve-wracking adventure in parenting.
One of Annabelle’s favorite games at the pool is to fill a container with water–anything will do, from a watering can to a sandcastle mold–and then look up at me, sip from it, and smile. At 17 months old, my daughter has already discovered how to get a reaction out of her mother. A typical conversation goes like this:
Me: No! No! Dirty water! No drink!
Annabelle: (big grin followed by another sip of the pool water)
Me: Blow bubbles in the water. Splash the water. No drink! Dirty. Dirty. (I make the sign for “dirty water”)
Annabelle: (big grin and then gulp, gulp)
So of course, I am panicking. Having read about the 10 year old who died from dry drowning in South Carolina last week, I can’t help but wonder just what’s inside the public pool. Chlorine is the main chemical in the pool’s iffy cocktail, and it’s well, chlorine. Over the last several years I have removed all cleaning products containing bleach/chlorine from our house, so it’s troubling and defeating to jump into a hole full of water mixed with bleach.
After our visit and ingestion of chlorinated pool water, I returned home and hopped onto good old Google and queried “chlorine safety for children.” Here’s what I learned:
1. Pregnant women worry too. Babble and Babyworld list several questions regarding whether or not it is safe for pregnant women to swim in chlorinated pools. Click here for Babble and here for Babyworld’s replies.
2. Studies show a link between infants who took swim classes and childhood asthma. The Babble article about swimming and pregnancy discusses the probability that chlorinated pools increases an infant’s risk for asthma, and recommends that children (and pregnant women) take deep breaths after getting out of the pool so that they clear their lungs of chemicals from the pool. Pure Green cites the same study, and addresses the environmental load that swimming pools can be.
3. Pools lose a ton of water. Pools can lose 7,000 gallons of water per year due to evaporation (which is, according to Pure Green, enough water for a human body to last 29 years) or 700 gallons each day, if there is a nasty leak.
4. I can get sick from visiting the public swimming pool. According to Water and Health.org, contaminated pool water can spread RWI, or recreational water illnesses; primarily diarrhea. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control warn that children, pregnant women, and others with “compromised immune systems” are at risk for severe illnesses “if infected.” Yum.
5. Swimming is good exercise. After all the naysayers condemn pool water usage, maintenance, the dangers of chlorine, and catching recreational water illnesses, everyone agrees that swimming in a pool is good exercise.
Having learned all of the above on my Google adventure, I can now rest easy and know that a) the only green part about going to the pool will be my hair (at summer’s end), and b) my family and I will likely contract Crypto after taking a delightful swim.
But, what it really comes down to is that I am going to take my daughter to the pool this summer because well, she insists on it. Annabelle shouts, “Poo-ool!” and then “Uh-oh” whenever we drive past the pool without stopping in for a visit, so I think this is one recreational activity that I’ll have to endure/enjoy this summer. Still, I really would appreciate any pointers that parents and other folks have for distracting little ones from drinking dirty, chlorinated pool water. Or, any tips about cooling off and not getting contaminated in the process would do too.
Other Resources:
“Infant Swimming: Chlorine Lung Risk?” by Medline
“Recreation Water Illness” by Medline
{ 7 comments }
Well, I don’t have any good tips for the pool drinking, but my kids did it at that age and don’t do it anymore. We HAVE to go to the pool with temps creeping over 100 degrees and it’s unfortunate that it is so environmentally unfriendly, but at least you are using a public pool instead of a private one and the summer only has 3 months of good swim time.
When we were in CO, we stayed at a “green” hotel that had chlorine free water. They use bromine (?) instead which is supposed to be a lot more gentle than chlorine. I haven’t investigated it much.
Alas, it seems that you write about things I am often thinking.
My little one hasn’t ever been in a pool…strange considering my oldest was in swimming lessons at age 2 and is now on swim team and training to be a lifeguard. It seems I’ve become neurotic or more aware of the dangers since his upbringing. I still take my oldest swimming (am tomorrow) but the little one is staying home with daddy. I worry about the chlorine and her sensitive skin, not to mention all the people and germs. My husband’s brother who is a nurse says he will never go in public pools.
She still gets to enjoy the water. We got her a little kiddie pool that she plays in daily and I plan to get her a little sprinkler.
I guess it’s always something though, b/c today my son got a slip and slide and we bought a new hose…he promptly brought me the box from the hose and showed me the warnings written on it about being toxic, can cause reproductive problems, etc…why can’t they just make things safe…
I grew up in the pool and I turned out okay…I think when she is a little older I’ll cave.
I thought I would add that my son doesn’t have asthma, we haven’t had sickness from the pool and well… the only suggestion I have is good the good ol’ distraction method. Have fun!
All good reasons to come swim in my pritave pool; we control the chemical usage (bromines only effective on a small scale… We use it in the hot tub), no foreign germs in our pool, and we cover it when not in use which keeps evaporation to a minimum!
I don’t know where I found your blog, but your daughter looks cute in her swim suit! I bought that same one from target for my youngest daughter! You have good taste ;o)
Thanks for pointing out this information. I’ve added your blog to my bloglines feed, thanks for sharing!
Great post! Growing up, we spent almost every day in the pool. My aspirations were to be a mermaid, and when I realized that was not to be, I became a synchronized swimmer. The nice thing about having your own pool is that you can really back down on the chlorination. But for a public pool, you don’t have that kind of control. Here are my thoughts on stopping Annabelle from drinking the dirty water. Is there any chance that Annabelle is really thirsty? Make sure she’s hydrated. Also, if she’s doing it for a reaction, can you ignore it? Or distract her?
Finally, I just wanted to note that the new trend around here is salt water pools. You don’t add any chlorine, just salt to kill off bacteria. It doesn’t make your eyes sting like chlorine can, and it won’t turn your hair green. (I went through many first days of school with green hair). I think when I finally convince my husband that we need a pool, it will be salt water.
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