Defecation!

Getting a bit tired of seeing this sign at the Southern Walk pool. We've gone to the pool 3 times over the past few weeks and its been closed. What can we do about this? Are the guards actually checking to see that children who appear to be younger than potty trained age wearing the appropriate swim diapers?

And parents....if your child isn't potty trained, please take responsibility and make sure that they have secure swim diapers on. Also, if your child has occasional accidents ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION and put them in a swim diaper.

When the Southern Walk (our largest) pool closes it puts a tremendous burden on the other pools. To the HOA--can we move the guards from a closed pool to one of the others and extend the hours? For example, last Sunday afternoon SW closed---we could have moved those guards to Summerbrooke and kept it open until 8 vs. have it close at 7 and move all the pool attendance to the CC pool.

We all pay a fee to use the pools for a very short time period each year and we'd like to enjoy it.

 

Exactly, actually it's been 3 times in Since Sunday that the pool has been closed.

5 times in the past 2 weeks.

 

Wow. We didn't realize it was THAT often. What could be happening?
Seems a bit often, doesn't it?

 

yup, well past the acceptable point

 

actually, last sunday afternoon, summerbrooke was closed due to defication, and southernwalk was closed due to someone throwing up.

Not sure how you would go about policing swim diapers. It's not like the life guards would want to take their time away from their cell phones and flirting with other teenagers to be bothered.

 

I seem to remember that there is a rule that, before getting in the pool, younguns are supposed to have leak proof ?? diapers/swimpants on. And that if they don't and they cause a shutdown, the HOA was going to charge for the superchlorination required to put the pool back in service?

 

In defence of the life guards... My wife and I go to the Southern Walk pool often. Every time we have been there the life guards on duty have been nothing but attentive. I don't think I've ever seen one that was on duty spend any time on their cell phones. Once they are off duty what they do is their own business. I've been very pleased to see how well they have done this season. They cant help it that people throw up, gas lines get broken, or accidents happen with little kids. If they were to start checking for swim diapers I can guarantee parents would immediately get upset with that. Parents with young kids should know the rules of the pool and if they don't follow them they should pay for getting the pool back in service. Just my opinion.

 

I have young kids, and they always wear swim diapers. Are swim diapers leak proof, I have no idea, but they wear them anyway just in case.

Regarding lifegards. The teenager down the street, who I trust to babysit my children and teach them to swim, was at southern walk recently, watched the a life guard on duty, in a stand flirt with other teenagers, which caused a fully clothed mother to jump into the pool directly in front of the life guard stand to pull her child out, who was under water just a little too long. Now I realize this isn't the norm, but I have seen enough flirting, cell phone use, and them letting their "friends" in, that I don't completely trust them. They do an adequate job, but there are definitely some issues. Those issues aren't likey to be resolved until older people are hired, which isn't going to happen.

 

I hate to mention this but those disposable swim diapers (little swimmers or something) are not that great. They don't bulge like a regular diaper & that's a definite plus but I don't see how absorbant they really are, especially when wet already from pool water. Ew.

And no, my child was not one who caused a pool shut down

 

It's hard to detect when some pee has got into the pool, I think the real issue is they keep a log from floating out.

 

not that this is happening here, but I saw an article about a lifeguard that was busted on a hidden camera for defecating and putting it in the pool so that he could have the rest of the day off paid.

 

Hah...thats a real go-getter.

 

Unfortunately in this day and age there are so many more attractive jobs for teenagers than being a lifeguard and local pool companies like NV Pools have a tough time getting enough lifeguards to fill all the spots. Wait until the end of the summer when all the experienced guards go off to college and see how tough it is on those that remain. Those they do hire, like my daughter who is a guard at Southern Walk, work their tails off (many days up to 12 hours out in the blazing sun and longer when they do swim lessons, swim meets or parties) throughout the summer, many times up to 7 days a week. They don't talk on cell phones when they are on the stand and when they are in the office there may be on break. Life guarding is not your normal job when you get an hour lunch/dinner break and then two 15 minute breaks other than that and work 8 hours, your breaks come when you can get them. Frequently with the large crowds and small number of guards they are off the chairs for just 15 minutes at a time and up for over an hour. Lifeguards also have to pay a good deal of money for their own training, uniforms and certifications that people in other jobs do not. Yes it may seem cool to be able to hang out at the pool all summer and get paid to do it, but in reality it is a very demanding job physically and involves a lot of crap work such as prepping the pool, cleaning up vomit and feces out of the pool, scrubbing the pool, pool deck and bathrooms, dealing with out of control kids and parents, and most of all just feeling exhausted all the time. Before many of you jump on the lifeguards about the poor job they do or how they socialize during work hours take a look at your own workplace and yourself and ask yourself how long each day do you spend on the Internet (on forums like these), socializing with co-workers, talking to friends or family on the phone, and taking nice long lunch breaks in air conditioned buildings.

 

I agree that there have been a lot of closings this week at Southernwalk pool for defication. And I know people want something done about it but I am not sure what it is that they want done. We could say no children under 5 can use certain pools but that limits a large part of the population of Broadlands from using the facilites (they pay for) so not the best option. I do not want to see life gaurds checking to make sure that a child is potty trainied how do you know from looking at a child anyway? If someone has a suggestion I am happy to listen, however my understanding from the gaurds and management of NV pools most of the defications that are occuring at southernwalk are not being caused by small children whose diapers have leaked or were not wearing them but from older children who are refusing to get out of the pool onto the hot deck and use the bathroom. The feces that is being found would be very large for a small child plus several times it has been found in the deep end of the pool so thus not from a small child.
As for the chances that the life gaurds are doing it (as I saw posted earlier) they are not getting out of a day of work they will just be moved to another pool to help take over the loads that are expected due to one pool closing which most of the time means more chores and longer hours. They do not get sent home.
People deficating and throwing up in a pool and closures for thunder storms are not something that we can ever eliminate and thus must deal with. We can however minimize it by remining older children to go to the bathrooms during breaks, making sure younger children that are not fully potty trained (even those that only have occasional accidents at home)have on swim diapers as well as rubber pants as required in the rules. But these things need to be the parents responsibilty not the life guards I do not want to see life guards having to check each child that comes in for either a swim diaper or have them prove they can use the bathroom .
When the weather gets hot we normally do see an increase in closings at the pools. In the past we have seen as many as 5 closing in a given week for some reason they all seem to be clumped together but then after a week we normally go back to our normal of 1 to 3 closings a month.
I will continue to monitor what is going on and if anyone has a suggestion on how to change to rules for minimize this like I said I am happy to listen

Staci
ssdkapinos@yahoo.com

 

Mdr227 is right. You cannot blame the lifeguards for something that is completely out of their hands. A defecation is as much in the hands of the lifeguards as thunderstorms are. And as for all of you who are thinking that the lifeguards enjoy these defecations they definately do not. Almost all of the staff gets split up and sent to the other two pools, and the managers usually stay and clean up the mess at the pool which usually takes hours. Also the lifeguards cannot get into the pool either after a defecation so spending hours cleaning in the hot sun and not being able to cool off in the pool does not sound like much fun. Also the guards have done everything they can to prevent these defecations from happening by posting signs that say that children who are not potty trained need to be in swim diapers- in case you havn't noticed yet. That really is all that can be done since there is no sense in banning young children from the pool as Staci mentioned it is not even small children that are causing the defecations.
So instead of pointing fingers and blaming others, and trying to come up with ridiculous ideas to prevent the pool from closing, just enjoy the time that you do get at the pool.

 

I disagree. While I haven't been to the pools yet this summer, last year I spoke with the guards multiple times in order to point out children and adults in the pool wearing street clothes (sorry but a sari is not a swimsuit) and babies wearing regular soggy diapers instead of swim diapers. Sure, I could have gone over to the people who were breaking the posted rules, but it's the job of the people working at the pool to enforce the rules for those who seem to have checked the ability to read at the gate when entering the facility.

I was a lifeguard as a teenager for a while and I have to say, it's not as horrible and difficult a job as it's being made out to be in previous posts. It was much easier than the jobs I had scooping ice cream and operating roller coasters.

 

JD - where did you work? KD or six flags? I used have board certs on Anaconda and Avalanche.

 

Hijacking the thread here, I worked at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey for six seasons. My first year I was on the Log Flume, second on Rapids and the next four on Freefall. I was also cross-certified for Loops (the coaster where someone died and it's no longer there) and I was a trainer for both Loops and Freefall. During the time I was there, I worked at one point or another on every ride in the park except for the ferris wheels.

It was the hardest job I ever had in terms of constantly needing to be aware of what all the people around you are doing as well as the physical conditions. When you're working with large machinery and you have the power to kill people just by pressing two buttons, it's serious. Freefall (my primary ride), usually had temperatures over 100 degrees on the loading platform because of the heat coming off the brake fins on the cars. For rapids, you were out in the sun all day and the platforms were coated with black non-slip so the heat just radiated up. We didn't have a pool to cool off in for our 15 minute break and all we had was a cooler of water to share amongst the crew for our entire shift. At the start and end of the season, because of staffing, I regularly worked 60 hour weeks at a minimum. There were only six weeks a summer when I worked less than 40. It was hard - fun at the time - glad I did it but would NEVER do it again.