Unsupervised at the Pool

Look folks, I was a total helicopter mom with my oldest. I was totally THAT GUY, I admit it. I hovered like it was a career. The Expert is a bit neurotic but that could just be genetics not my hovering (or a combo of both). I am learning (as she gets older) a certain level of distance is healthy and the second I step back she isn’t going to immediately have some disastrous issue. Both sending her to preschool, watching my friends (that I respect) with their children and having a second child have all further facilitated this progress in my dehelicopterization. Recovery is a process…

BUT…not paying attention makes me NUTS. Look, letting kids play in a playground without your hand 3 inches away is healthy, especially as they become old enough to do so without jettisoning their brains. Running in a field is fabulous, climbing, hiking, and playing in their rooms are all good things. THE POOL, while a place to have fun, should not be a world of unsupervised chaos. The lifeguard is not your personal babysitter; I bet they would even agree. During my jaunt to the pool recently, while allowing the EXPERT to play within the 2 foot deep area (not outside of scoop and rescue distance since she can’t swim yet) and carrying the crash tester (who is also thinks he has gills and dive bombs the water face first), I was set upon by a pair of unsupervised beasties. They came thundering into the wading pool area and crashed past the pair of 4 years olds and the 2 ½ year old that were playing contently. It’s the pool, so I try to maintain a defensive not offensive parental position. They meandered on for awhile but would represent their annoying presence every once in awhile. One had a squirt gun and felt compelled to shoot me with it occasionally. “Let’s not squirt the baby (or the mean not interested in being squirted in the face adult).” I got (and no, this isn’t nice) the stupid face. The one kid crashed into me a couple times and I always got the “where did you come from” face. In 2 feet of water…I am a monolith…don’t pretend I just appeared out of nowhere! I exerted huge personal control and did not GROWL at the child. They seemed well versed in POOL ROMPING, were generally harmless and seemed to be having fun. They didn’t strike me as probably drowners but I couldn’t identify mom and they were a bit crazy. I chalked it up to kids can be crazy sometimes and went about my merry little pool time with kids.

As I was packing up to leave they were sent out of the pool by the lifeguard, this is when I figured out who the mom was. She was the one sitting with the baby in a stroller, her head in a book, and cell phone on her ear, looking away from the pool. They told mommy (I was eavesdropping…yea, so…) that the lifeguard sent them out of the pool because they weren’t safe. Mom got all in a tizzy about “why, aren’t you allowed to play” and “well, maybe it’s because you were getting where it’s too deep since you can’t swim.” Ummmm….MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE MOMMY IS IGNORING HER 2 CHILDREN IN THE POOL THAT CAN’T SWIM…..MORON!

And let’s not even discuss unsupervised at the beach…..