A Mother's View from the Pool: Why are you Wearing Crocs in the Water?

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

23 Aug 2008 11:28 PM

There's a fierce debate going on in cyberspace regarding whether "fashionable" people should be wearing Crocs-those plastic clog-like shoes that come in an array of bright colors-in public. I'll leave that bitter battle to others. However, the popular footwear does play prominently in observations I've made this summer as a mom frequenting our local aquatic center.

As I mentioned in my previous blog my 4-year-old daughter is learning to swim, thus we have spent quite a bit of time at our community pool in the last 12 weeks. In that time I've had the opportunity to view interesting parenting techniques. (Some a bit more questionable than others.) One that sticks out is how many parents allow their children to stroll around in the pool wearing Crocs and flip-flops.

Let me be very clear about this: I'm not mistaking the footwear for water socks or shoes designed specifically for water activities. I'm talking about Crocs. For some reason a boatload of parents seem to be perfectly content with allowing their young children to splash around in the water wearing the flashy clogs. Mind you there is a huge sign at the entrance to the pool clearly stating that footwear is not allowed in the water, yet on any given day you will find literally dozens of children walking from the restrooms, locker rooms and sand play area directly into the zero-depth pool wearing flip flops and Crocs. (I won't even get into my observation of a young girl continuously dipping her Croc into the pool in an effort to loosen dried gum from its rubberized bottom... as her mother looked on.)

What's more, you don't need the science background of Mr. Wizard to know that flip-flops are lightweight and buoyant and once a child starts kicking around in the water they will inevitably fall off and float to the surface. So, obviously we can rule out that they are being worn in the pool to protect children's feet. Ditto for the Crocs. Since most of the children I observed were more interested in watching their shoes float away (and subsequently enjoying the thrill of swimming after them) it's safe to assume that the banned footwear was not being used for safety reasons.

Enter my extremely observant and articulate (and not always in a positive way) preschooler, who one day a few weeks ago, demanded that she be allowed to wear her pink Crocs in the pool because "those other kids are doing it."

My response: "Absolutely not, it's against the rules."

Her response: "You're mean."

Said "mean" mommy then had to explain to her 4-year-old why some parents let their children break pool rules. Not satisfied with my explanation my fearless child took it upon herself to quiz a Croc wearing kid as to why he was swimming with shoes.

The young boy's response: "My mommy doesn't care if I wear shoes in the pool."

Hmm... talk about overstating the obvious. Clearly these kids were not sneaking away from their parents and pulling off some clandestine mission to submerge their footwear.

But that's not the point I am trying to make here. This summer I got my first taste of what the future holds as my parental skills are put up against those of other, shall I say, less rule-abiding parents.

I'm sure my status as a "mean" mommy will stick with me as the years progress and my daughter questions why she is not able to wear revealing clothes, stay out past curfew, drink alcohol, get a tattoo or date before she is 30 (wink!).

I'll deal with those issues in due time, but for now I am content with addressing the mundane topic of no Crocs in the pool.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

kk1 (16) 25 Oct 2008 02:49 PM

It's so infuriating when parents don't enforce rules. It used to drive me crazy at these indoor play areas that have an under 2's play area with children in them that look about 7! I used to point out to them that they were too old to be in there and send them out. My oldest would be saying " Why can't we go in there, other big children are?" I would say loudly "I don't know why those older children are in the younger children's part, maybe their parents aren't watching them." I'd then look around to see if anyone looked up from their lap top or magazine to see if it was their child. My other pet hate is children who climb up the slide when others are coming down even though there is a big sign with a picture clue saying 'no going up the slide'! I just let my children know that we keep to the rules because they are there to protect everyone and although we can't control other people we do what we can. I also have a memory full of stories about children I looked after before my children were born, such as they boy who climbed up a slide and slipped, banging his nose and hurting it a lot. There might be one about a child who drowned wearing crocs in the community pool but I can usually remember something true to illustrate my point.

Michele Cheplic (37236) 27 Oct 2008 01:38 PM

kk1 you would fit in very nicely with our playgroup moms! ;-) Ditto everything you said!! Thanks for the comment.

deedee1231 (4030) 27 Oct 2008 02:36 PM

Good points, kk1! When my daughter was 2 years old she fell off of a slide and ended up getting 4 staples put in her head due to bigger kids climbing up the slide instead of going up the ladder. They just knocked her right off!

bridge02 (207) 01 Aug 2009 06:45 PM

I wonder why the lifeguards do not enforce the rules at your pool.

It can be frustrating on playgrounds and other public places when other children's parents ignore enforcing rules or let their children behave in ways that seem quite unsafe. (Or when there are older children with no parents in sight blatently breaking rules). We've found that our daughter is alright when we simply tell her that other families may have different rules than ours.

Michele Cheplic (37236) 06 Aug 2009 05:17 AM

The lifeguards at our public pool are still in high school (save for a couple that are in college) and most are more interested in scoping out their friends than worrying about whether one child is being held under the water by another. Sad, but true. Thanks for the comment bridge02.