Your guests are enjoying a refreshing swim in your pool when the incident occurs. There's a quick announcement: "Everyone out of the pool!" That angelic-faced toddler bobbing along in his safety ring has just experienced a swim diaper overload.
Simply put, the little fella pooped in the pool.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued Six 'PLEAs' for Healthy Swimming: Protection Against Recreational Water Illnesses. Read the guidelines, discuss them with your children and their friends, and follow these hygenic swimming behaviors for a healthier, cleaner swimming environment for all involved.
1. Stomach Flu? Don't Swim
Photo Courtesy of CDCPlease don't' swim when you have diarrhea. You can spread germs in the water and make other people sick. This is especially important for babies and toddlers in swim diapers. If it can happen in the pool, it will.
2. Ick: Don't Drink Pool Water
Please don't swallow the pool water. In fact, avoid getting water in your mouth. That means you shouldn't get a mouthful and spit it like a human fountain. Find another (safe) way to amuse people.3. Shower & Wash Your Hands
Please practice good hygiene. Take a shower before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Germs on your body end up in the water.4. Potty Breaks
Please take your kids on bathroom breaks or check diapers often. Waiting to hear "I have to go" may really mean, "Oops I went!"'5. Diaper Duty: Location, Location, Location
Please change diapers in a bathroom or a diaper-changing area and not at poolside. Germs can spread to surfaces and objects in and around the pool and cause illness. And even if they tell you otherwise, most people don't really enjoy watching the diaper-changing show while they're trying to enjoy a refreshing swim.6. Clean Bottoms
Please wash your child thoroughly (especially his/her bottom) with a baby wipe or soap and water before swimming. Everyone has invisible amounts of fecal matter on their bottoms that could end up in the pool, no matter how cute those baby bottoms may be.
