First Kid Pool Party, Any Advice?

[Surf Hawk]

We are having our first pool party since moving in to our new house last fall. It will be a bunch of 3-4 year olds, all who have been in swim lessons since very young but none of them I would take my eye off for longer than a second. I am looking for any tips from veterans on how to have a safe and fun pool party. A couple things:

1) I want to hire a lifeguard from the community so I can be on the grill and not worry about taking my eye off the pool. Anyone have any experience with hiring a lifeguard?

2) We have safety fence up that is easy to take down, I am thinking of taking 1 or more sections down since the fence is kind of close to the pool making access for more than few people though. Worth it?

3) On the fun side of things, any organized activity we could do besides a few kids playing on steps and trying to swim to their parents? We don't have a slide but I'd like to get a small plastic one like they have at our swim lessons. We do have a diving board. Most of these kids can't swim to the bottom of even the shallow end yet without their parents pushing them down to grab things.

Any advice on what you did at your young kids's parties would be helpful.

 

[JVTrain]

Young kids love filing containers and dumping them out. Get a bunch of left over plastic containers of different sizes and shapes. I'd say left over bleach jugs but parents of other kids might get freaked out, plus they're kinda large.

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[RobbieH]

Kids love swim noodles. The only other advice I have is to bring your FC up a little before the party.

 

[karmabiker]

No kids in the pool without mom or dad in with them....

and bump the FC.

 

[f3justusc]

The local YMCA, Red Cross, or rec center should be able to point you in the direction of a lifeguard looking for a weekend gig. However, you might be getting into a situation of liability that no one wants to assume. If you have a pool party and have a friend attend who is a lifeguard may be a little less gray, as opposed to hiring a lifeguard who is, in essence, your employee for the day. Also, if you say, we will have a lifeguard on duty, some parents will be a lot more lax about watching their children than if you say, parents must attend and swim at your own risk. It would be interesting to hear the opinions of others on this topic as this just occurred to me as I started reading this thread.

 

[kimkats]

I used to "lifeguard" for the people I babysat for. My ONLY job was to look at the pool. I did a head count every 2 mins!

I would take down the whole fence so anyone from anywhere can get into the pool just in case speed is needed.

Noodles, lots and lots of noodles. I would also have life vest for the kids to wear just in case they get tired but do not want to get out of the pool.

Games are not really needed as they can and will have fun just swimming.

I would NOT allow jumping into the pool unless there is an adult there to catch them.

Good luck and have fun!

Kim

 

[f3justusc]

Great point about the ^^^^ easy access is the crucial if a problem occurs.

 

[kcindc]

If it were me, I would get someone else to cook and keep an eye on the kids myself. A friend of mine hires uses her regular house cleaning lady for parties. I've thought about doing so I can socialize more.

Keep the fence down so that you can access anyone who might get in trouble while in the pool.

For fun, get some cheap water guns... kids love to squirt each other (and adults) with water. Have fun!

 

[Casey]

No kids in the pool without mom or dad in with them....

and bump the FC.

I agree! If you're going to have 3-4 year olds in the pool, their parents better be in the pool with them. That is such a huge responsibility to over see at least 5 children that age. No way I would take that on without their parents involvement.

 

[Surf Hawk]

Hi and thanks for all the helpful tips. All but 1-2 of these kids and their parents have been in our pool before so they know the rules about a parent with them at all times. The lifeguard was more for a 2nd layer of protection since I know there will be a moment when my wife will have to deal with our 4 month old and I might take my eyes off the pool. Knowing a guard is there in case that happens will be a good thing.

I contacted the local college aquatics program and they are posting an add for me, $15 an hour to have one of the guards that work their pools.

Love all the other tips, I am going to up our noodle count and make sure to bring all of the cups and things from the sandbox over to the pool.

- - - Updated - - -

BTW, this is how responsive the aquatics director at the university pool was:

We do post notices in our guard office for private parties. I’ll post the day, date, time and number/age of children along with your contact information. I can confirm their certifications, employment here and general work performance and ethic which should help you decide. Typically these functions offer approx. $15/hr for a guard.

 

[JVTrain]

Nice to have that available!

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