Poll: Should we join the pool this summer?

[Zinnia]

We love our pool and have had a summer membership for the last 7 summers. It's fun for us, though. Last summer, we actually joined 2 pools....the neighborhood one and the outdoor YMCA, which is about a 15 minute drive away. And on days that we don't go to those, sometimes we hit a different pool for variety.

 

In summer, though, I am a miserable outdoor person. Over about 90 degrees, I want to hibernate somewhere cool or the pool, and that's basically June, July, and August here, often into September. The pool let's us get out and have fun and do something.

[Another Lynn]

I was going to say yes, until I saw that it's crowded (ugh! - that would be a deal breaker for me) and you already have the Y membership.  

[bettyandbob]

The fee at pools near me is more.

 

Besides using $400 to pay for a few trips, what will you instead all summer. For me summer with littles is going to the pool and hanging out all day. I don't spend on movies or going to special event. We just go to the pool. When the kids were big enough to do summer swim team, they'd go to practice early and make plans to meet back at the pool later. So for our family pool membership was the entire summer entertainment. And we'd go to the library to get books that we read at the pool during break.

[vonfirmath]

I was going to say Yes of course until I saw you had a YMCA membership; Go to the YMCA pool.  That's what we are doing this summer. We are not getitng a membership to the closer town pool because we can go to the YMCA pool we already pay for.

 

We, too, prefer indoor.

 

[bethben]

We did a pool pass one summer.  The best times we could use it were at night because it was so crowded during the day.  We would go over to the pool after an early lunch. About an hour after we got there, the kids camp buses pulled up on very random days.  Two whole buses of kids got out with not enough counselors to make sure every kid was following the rules.  When there's a ton of people in the pool, two things happen.  First, there's no place to swim.  Mostly you stand there with a bunch of other people.  Second, the sunscreen haze.  If there's too many people and too much sunscreen, the deep end can get a haze in it which shuts down that portion of the pool because the lifeguards can't see past the first foot down.  I would stick with the YMCA pool indoors.  

[ScoutTN]

I'd do it.

Your kids need the practice swimming to solidify the lesson work. Swimming is great exercise and fun. You might make some new friends and acquaintances. Try it! Summer is for the pool!

 

FWIW, that price is very inexpensive for private pools here. The Y, with outdoor pools, but also with hordes of school aged day care kids, costs $400 for the summer.

[TX Native]

Undecided, but tipping toward no. To me it depends on a few things. First, the bathroom situation. I hate water parks and pools that have tiny messy bathrooms with little room to change and shower if needed. No benches for wet stuff in the changing area is a deal breaker for me. It also depends on if you will likely have a lounge chair or table to relax at while the kids are in the pool. Shade is a plus. If the space for parents to relax fill up fast, it isn't worth it to me to spend the summer sitting on hot concrete while the kids play in the pool. The price you quoted is more expensive than community pools in our area, but private fitness center pools run about the same. I don't care for our indoor Y pool either, but combining it with drop in daycare time during my pool trip made it worth enduring when my kids were little. If there is drop in childcare while you are at the gym, I would suggest your weekdays having the kids in the drop in center while you exercise (or relax) at the gym an hour or two, take the kids to the pool at the Y an hour or two, eat a picnic lunch at a park on the way home, maybe or maybe not play at the park, and have a downtime with everyone in the room at home the hottest part of the afternoon. You can still wear a cute summer hat everyday 😉. A day trip every few weeks should break up the monotony.

[amy g.]

I would do it so my kids could swim with friends.

 

15 minutes by car does not seem far to me. Plus if it is one million degrees out, I wouldn't want to walk.

 

We school all year, so I would just put it in my planner to finish school before lunch 2 or 3 days each week, eat lunch at home and then head to the pool for the afternoon. That way, I would know we were getting our money out of it.

[QueenCat]

For us, the pool was pretty much where the kids and  I would be, pretty much every weekday, until they were in their teens. We all loved it. We'd go around 10, when it opened, get lunch there or pack it, depending on my mood. And stay there until around 4, to head home & make dinner. If we went later, dh would meet us there instead & we'd get a pizza or something. Major social center. The Y, on the other hand, really didn't have people staying and hanging out/socializing..... so that wasn't for us. Good for winter exercise but not socializing.

[solascriptura]

Of course it's practical to swim indoors at the Y, but most kids will be outdoors at the community pool. If playing with friends is important you'll need to join the outdoor pool. My kids will get bored with only playing with their siblings at the Y.

[Alice]

We have a pool membership that costs a little more than that a year. But it is our summer. My kids do swim team and we are there literally every day. My daughter also does dive team and there are tennis and water polo teams as well. Being on the teams makes us go every day and means the kids have lots of friends I am more of an introvert so I spend a lot of time in the shade reading. But even so over the years we've made summer friends.

 

I'm not sure I would spend the same money if we didn't have the teams. For us that is the anchor that has made it worth it.