Daily Dose of Common Sense

We’re staying at a major beach resort that is very family oriented. We have two little kids, so we always get lots of swim diapers. These are diapers that hold any accidents inside, therefore protecting others in the pool from contamination. All the public pools I’ve been to require them for small kids.

Well, yesterday I saw a mother playing with her tiny NAKED daughter in the pool. So, not only did the child not have on a swim diaper, the infant was completely naked. Yep, not even a swim suit was there as a barrier between an accident and the pool water. This was not a potty-trained kid and the child wasn’t old enough to talk any more than coos and giggles. But, there she was–butt naked in a hotel pool.

I was surprised no one from the hotel staff said anything to the parents. Isn’t it a matter of public safety?

The effects of feces, vomitus or a dead animal in a public pool can be serious, if not life-threatening to pool users especially children, the elderly and people with suppressed immune systems. Feces and vomitus material can contain large numbers of pathogenic (harmful) microorganisms.

Swim diapers are sold everywhere, including within the resort. So there’s no question of their availability. I’m not sure whether these parents were clueless or just rude. Putting a diaper on your young child in the pool seems like a no brainer.

Even if you’re one of the parents who play by the rules, don’t swallow pool water. You never know what’s in there.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm and is filed under Common Courtesy, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.