jenn- Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 We are going camping on the beach soon and my DH wants to take the kids to a water park. I know 2 kids would enjoy the slides and 2 kids would enjoy the idea of enjoying the slides but will probably freak out once we get there (they are just the timid type). All kids can swim with the youngest still being a mediocre swimmer and the twins are just okay swimmers. There is no ifs, ands, or buts that my youngest would have to be in a life vest if he goes into the wave pool. I want to say the same thing about the twins because waves are tiring. Here's the problem.... I am TERRIFIED of water parks/wave pools because of a near drowning experience in high school. I don't want my fear to keep my kids from experiencing something they would enjoy, but I don't know how to let go enough to even consider buying tickets. It would be nearly $300 to go, but we could go as many times as we wanted in the 7 days we are down there. Do I really want to spend $300 to live in a state of panic the whole time? Do I put on my big girl panties and just suck it up and make the weak swimmers wear their life vests? What have you had to let your kids do so they could experience life without living by your fears? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 You are OK with the beach but not a water park? That is not rational! I'm sure you know that !! Fears that keep our kids safe are healthy. Fears that keep our kids from experiencing healthy adventure are not. I'd say this one falls much further into the "healthy adventure" category. Plus $300 for a week is a pretty good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I have taught the boys to swim since they were little, I take them at least once, but sometimes even 4 times a week to the pool where they swim, so I am very confident in their swimming abilities. Just so that you know. I would send them. I'm assuming that there is more than just the water slides at this park right? Take or send them all and tell the weak swimmers to wear their life vests and if the timid kids don't like it, they only have to go on the slide once each time that they visit. ("Always try, even just a little" is an oft-repeated phrase in our household) I'd take any kid that didn't like the slides to some of the less harrowing rides and attractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyx4 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Check the park's website. Some parks require everyone under a certain height to wear life jackets. Also, look at the pics, there is likely to be a section that is only 1-2 ft deep. Start there on your first day and then work your way up. (I was raised by a parent terrified of water.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Do I put on my big girl panties and just suck it up and make the weak swimmers wear their life vests? What have you had to let your kids do so they could experience life without living by your fears? I say this as a long time swim teacher, and I say it very gently, but yes, you do need to put on your big girl panties and let your kids go. Please, please don't pass along this fear to them. Water is too many places to have kids be afraid of it. Even better, sign them up for swimming lessons so they can be confident enough not to panic if they ever do find themselves unexpectedly immersed. Best of all, Mama, find some swim lessons for yourself and learn to control your fear. Look around for someone experienced in teaching adults and take some lessons. I think teaching kids to be comfortable ( and safe) around water is one of the best things you can do for them. It opens an entire world of leisure activities. As for the water park, lots of parks have non-swimmer areas where your younger kids can play for hours and you can sit by the edge and watch.! Hugs and enjoy your vacation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Your youngest is 8? Yes, I would allow them to go. Timid kids don't have to go on the slides. (Or they can try it with your dh there with them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Definitely go! This summer we went to Water World for the first time and had a blast. Most rides do not have deep water and life jackets were available for free. DH can barely swim and does not like going to the pool so he thought he would just watch everyone most of the day. Instead he went on more rides than I did and had a ton of fun. The park we went to had two wave pools, a big one and a little one with smaller waves. Perhaps the park you are thinking about going to is similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I'm still stuck you're afraid of waterparks, but you are taking weak to OK swimmers to the beach. I'm going camping at a state park soon. The beach there has no lifeguard. Does the beach you are going to have lifeguards. What precautions are you taking at the beach? Waterpark? Yes, all the kids should go. You go too. You hang out at one of the splash areas and let kids come back and check in with you from time to time. They will decide if they want follow your dh or hang with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Honestly I think there is much less risk at a waterpark than in your own bathtub, especially if you avoid the wave pool. Go. Maybe you'll get over your fear and enjoy the slides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks for the replies so far. Check the park's website. Some parks require everyone under a certain height to wear life jackets. Also, look at the pics, there is likely to be a section that is only 1-2 ft deep. Start there on your first day and then work your way up. (I was raised by a parent terrified of water.) Unfortunately my kids are tall and the little one is 55" and doesn't have a height restriction for anything. There are kid sections with a lazy river and shallower areas. You are OK with the beach but not a water park? That is not rational! I'm sure you know that !! Fears that keep our kids safe are healthy. Fears that keep our kids from experiencing healthy adventure are not. I'd say this one falls much further into the "healthy adventure" category. Plus $300 for a week is a pretty good deal. My kids hate salt water. They will go about knee deep there and hunt for hermit crabs and shells and make sand castles. I say this as a long time swim teacher, and I say it very gently, but yes, you do need to put on your big girl panties and let your kids go. Please, please don't pass along this fear to them. Water is too many places to have kids be afraid of it. Even better, sign them up for swimming lessons so they can be confident enough not to panic if they ever do find themselves unexpectedly immersed. Best of all, Mama, find some swim lessons for yourself and learn to control your fear. Look around for someone experienced in teaching adults and take some lessons. I think teaching kids to be comfortable ( and safe) around water is one of the best things you can do for them. It opens an entire world of leisure activities. As for the water park, lots of parks have non-swimmer areas where your younger kids can play for hours and you can sit by the edge and watch.! Hugs and enjoy your vacation! My kids have all had swimming lessons. They swim well enough that I have no problem with them anywhere in a standard swimming pool. The youngest has finally conquered his fear of the diving board and I have no problem with that. I can swim well. I swim with the kids without a problem. My near drowning was because I was being pulled slightly further out with each wave and I went down to go under a wave and found that I was deeper then I thought. I pushed up off the bottom but came up in the middle of the next wave and never got up for air. I bobbed a couple of waves like that before my 6'5" friend reached me and grabbed me out. My fear isn't about water, it is specifically wave pools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 In the wave pool you can specify how deep you want your children to go and you can ensure an adult is in arm's length with them at all times. I'm sorry you had that experience but I wouldn't let it keep your family from going to water parks, or even going into a wave pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks for the replies so far. My fear isn't about water, it is specifically wave pools. Ah, well. That's different. I understand. (And, good on you for getting your kids swim lessosn! ) In that case, I would change my advice..... There are lots of things to do at a water park that don't involve the wave pool. At least that is the case with every waterpark I've been to. Also, many waterparks have an age/height/ability restriction to keep younger/smaller/weaker swimmers out of the deeper area. I recall one day when we were at a water park with our children. My second (tiny, petite ) daughter, about 10 at the time, who had been swimming from toddlerhood, was in the deep area of the wave pool with me, without a float. The guard whistled and called her over. He said she was too young to swim in that area. Obviously, there were similarly aged children so she asked the age restriction and when told, she pointed out that she was older. I guess he didn't believe her because he said she would have to take a test and tread water for 5 minutes, which she easily did. Then he said she would have to swim across the pool and back. She easily did that as well. She was actually a very good, strong swimmer at that point but that lifeguard was determined to make sure nothing happened to 'the little kid' on his watch! Give your weaker swimmers life jackets, caution the bigger kids to stay close to shore, ask dad to be especially vigilant and try to enjoy the sunshine. Hugs. It's hard overcoming fears that appear illogical to others. (I'm terrified of heights. I shake just standing on a step stool!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 My near drowning was because I was being pulled slightly further out with each wave and I went down to go under a wave and found that I was deeper then I thought. I pushed up off the bottom but came up in the middle of the next wave and never got up for air. I bobbed a couple of waves like that before my 6'5" friend reached me and grabbed me out. My fear isn't about water, it is specifically wave pools. I had a similar experience in Florida (college spring break) but didn't have the 6'5" friend to pull me out. It's a lot scarier than it sounds, even after years of competitive swimming Wave pools, OTOH, were nothing like that. They are so tame they are disappointing. More like swells than waves. There's no white water, the waves don't break. There's no undertow or tide. You can't body surf and it certainly won't pull you under. Usually, they are so crowded there's barely room to stand and float an inch or two off the bottom with each wave. They run the waves for 5 minutes or so, then turn them off for 10-15 minutes. They are certainly NOT the best part of the water park. The kids will probably want to try it once then decide the slides are a lot more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I had a scary experience in the deep end of a wave pool, so I understand where you're coming from. :grouphug: Personally, I'd wear a swimsuit, but you can wear your big girl panties if you want. Might distract you... ;) Slap life vests on the ok swimmers before they go in the wave pool and send DH in there with them. Hope you are able to have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Some water parks (like Great Wolf Lodge) have a line painted at the wave pool that non-swimmers can stand behind for even greater safety. They may want to stay there at first until you see exactly how high and strong the waves are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks for the understanding and encouragements. I think I will let him get the tickets. I'm pretty sure I can't make myself buy the tickets, but I will go. I do a lot for the kids that makes me miserable during the time it is happening, but the kids enjoy it so much. This will just be another notch in the "I can do it for the kids" belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Jenn- at the wave pool we are very diligent to make sure the kids don't go beyond a specific line. It is easy to get pulled further if you aren't watchful. DH or I usually faced toward the shore and kept the kids between us and shore to make sure they didn't drift too far. We also had them wear vests the first couple of times we went. (Our littlest hasn't been to a waterpark yet.) Also, at the park we went to there were little bitty kid levels, a couple of medium kid levels and the big stuff. All our kids stuck with the gentler levels. These included short slides, a climbing park with water sprays and medium slides and a spray park area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Wave pools, OTOH, were nothing like that. They are so tame they are disappointing. More like swells than waves. There's no white water, the waves don't break. There's no undertow or tide. You can't body surf and it certainly won't pull you under. Usually, they are so crowded there's barely room to stand and float an inch or two off the bottom with each wave. They run the waves for 5 minutes or so, then turn them off for 10-15 minutes. They are certainly NOT the best part of the water park. The kids will probably want to try it once then decide the slides are a lot more fun. Wave pools must really vary, because this was not the experience we had at a wave pool at an amusement park that we visited the last 2-3 years. The wave pool experience was *intense* - much moreso than I expected from my experiences in wave pools when I was a kid. The waves did break. There was a type of cyclical undertow - each wave would push you back but then after the wave you'd get pulled forward. Also, since it was fresh water and not salt water, you couldn't just bob like you can in the ocean, you had to actively jump to keep your head above water and you had to time your jumps properly or you'd get dunked. The waves ran for over 5 minutes - over 100 waves. I was tired by the end of a wave cycle (much moreso than swimming in waves at the ocean). If you stood where the water only came up to your waist, the waves really tossed you around. That said, there were signs when you went in that kids under a certain height had to be wearing life vests, and there was a lifeguard at the entrance enforcing that. There were tons of life vests available for anyone who wanted to use one. There were also signs asking parents to stay within arms reach of their kids. The first year we went, my kids (who were around 7 and 10 at the time) thought they were stronger swimmers than they actually were and they wanted to get way out in the deepest part of the pool, so we stayed close to them and watched them like hawks, and it was a good thing - my younger daughter, in particular, needed to be helped a bit. But they absolutely loved it! I saw other parents underestimating the intensity of the experience. This year when we were there, I saw a weak swimmer in the deep end during the period between the waves. I remember thinking that I hoped he was swimming out to his parents, or that they were nearby to help him or move him back to shallower water before the waves came. That cycle, the lifeguards actually stopped the waves (they stopped pretty much instantly) and jumped in to help a struggling kid, and that was him. His parents were no where around as they helped him out of the pool. My recommendation would be to have any weaker swimmers wear life vests, and have the kids stand where the water comes up to their chest - that's deep enough to not get tossed around and to have the fun of jumping at the crest of each wave, yet shallow enough to be able to touch between the crests. The experience may actually be more fun with a life vest on, because you can bob with the waves and don't have to work so hard to keep your head above water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 One idea. Wear a vest yourself and ease into the wave pool over the week. Maybe desensitize yourself a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 For those with water park experience, do they usually charge for life vests? I know they had the big tubes that people could rent at the one I went to and that just makes it more dangerous in my opinion (if you are the one not on the float). We have some that fit the kids, but the ones that DD and I wear on the boat are emergency pull tab style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 For those with water park experience, do they usually charge for life vests? I know they had the big tubes that people could rent at the one I went to and that just makes it more dangerous in my opinion (if you are the one not on the float). We have some that fit the kids, but the ones that DD and I wear on the boat are emergency pull tab style. At the WDW water park, they were free but you had to leave a card deposit to make sure it was returned. Back in high school, the large water park run by Six Flags had huge bins of them by the wave pool. You couldn't leave the area with them. Check the park's website. I bet the info is on there. If not, they should have a customer service number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 At the water park we went to, they had a ton of life vests for people to use for free - big bins as you walked into the wave pool area, and people would drop them off there as they left. I'm not sure if they had adult sizes, though. I would take a look at the website for the water park you're going to, or phone them to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I agree with a bunch of the other thoughts. Your kids are a GREAT age for this and will probably gain a lot of water confidence in a week. They will have a BLAST! If your 8 and 10 year olds are still not swimming reasonably well, you may want to look into swimming lessons. They've made a HUGE difference for my kids, but it has required some persistence and patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks everyone. I had almost forgotten that I have to call them. One park we were looking at said no googles or face masks but this one just mentions diving masks. One of the twins has extremely light sensitive eyes and no googles would be a make or break for us. His are tinted dark with black bands so he can be in the pool. What does everyone consider a good swimmer to be? Both older boys would pass any camp swim test with water treading and distance. They just don't have a pretty swimming stroke. They took swim lessons each summer for 3 years. The youngest can swim the length of a standard backyard in ground swimming pool. He can hold the wall for a few seconds and come back. Again 3 yrs of swimming lessons. He was just a lot younger when they started. This is the first year none of them had swim lessons. In my mind they can swim, it just isn't pretty and they don't have much endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenvneck Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Goggles are usually okay in a water park except for on rides/slides. Only eye goggles, though, nothing that covers the nose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 For those with water park experience, do they usually charge for life vests? I know they had the big tubes that people could rent at the one I went to and that just makes it more dangerous in my opinion (if you are the one not on the float). We have some that fit the kids, but the ones that DD and I wear on the boat are emergency pull tab style. The park we went to had them available for free at Guest Services. I'm glad you are going and hope your family has a wonderful time! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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