Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Great Debate; Does playing in a chlorinated pool, in fact, constitute a bath?

If you would have asked me a mere 3 years ago if the daily splash in our pool would substitute for a nightly bath, I would have answered a resounding "HELL NO!" Followed by, "That is disgusting! Mom's who do that are lazy and gross!"
Fast forward to a second child, a raging case of Mommy brain that sometimes feels like a slight case of sun-downers and I'd say, "Maybe?" "It's better than nothing, right?" "Chlorine is in bleach and bleach is a cleaning agent,ergo the girls are sorta clean, right?"


First, let me start by admitting, I know that it's gross! Also, let me say that I know this is no substitute for a bath. But sometimes, on those long tiring days of summer,when all time, space and reality is out of whack...it is what it is! Before, I would have reacted like a mad woman, yelling and screeching while overtired, wanting to be playing outside ( damn you long days) children fought the bath like a cat about to be drowned. Oh but I would have won the battle, probably much weaker from the wear. But I am a bigger woman these days, I'd much rather just admit defeat and own up to the fact that some night, like tonight..I wasn't sure what day I last gave the girls an actual bath. I'm pretty sure it was Saturday Morning before our road trip,so they are due but it will have to wait until tomorrow morning before our next road trip. You didn't think I was going to take them to my in laws dirty, did you? Geez, what am I some kind of "bad" Mother? Don't judge me and don't tell me that your kids have never substituted a day in the pool for a 20 minute splash in the bathtub! That being said, obviously a splash in any organic  body of water is not acceptable. My rule is if fish, or anything else, procreate , defecate, masturbate and urinate in it...it doesn't count as a substitute. That would be why public pools do not count! EWWW!
What are your thoughts? Have your kiddies ever missed a bath or , ahem, two during swimsuit season? I'm not perfect, but I fight the good fight! Happy Mothering!

12 comments:

  1. Well, we have a salt water pool and our 2 year old has had that as a substitute bath on occassion. But, we obviously give her a bath sometime the next day ;)

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  2. For starters, I have that exact pool. secondly, hubs and I have had this conversation before. So i can admit, without shame, that i've used pool time as "bath time." I mean hell its clean water, right? the germs are theirs like if they were in a small itty bitty bathtub. I mean its not something I do ALL the time. And I would never take them to a public pool and then not give them a bath after. Its our pool, our germs, whatever :)

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  3. Wellll...add a few more kids and your lucky if they SEE the bathtub all summer long!!!Lol! I have 5 summer kissed(by kissed i mean dirty) kids ages 9 and under...catch my drift?! A little dirt never hurt noone...right?! ;)

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  4. ooh...maybe I should add this too...with 5 kids...they don't see the public pool...heck...I rarely take them all out in public at the same time!! If they swim...it's in a private pool...but mostly...it's the hose! LOL!

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  5. You are way too fricken funny about the fish and masterbating and procreating!! That definitely made me laugh. And no there is nothing wrong with you for doing a "pool bath". It's not like you are doing it all the time and it's water isn't it...water makes things clean...and bleach disinfects. What more could you ask for on those sun downer days??!!!
    Have fun on your road trip!!

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  6. Of course kids can skip baths...it's not like they are day laborers in the cotton fields!

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  8. Ha!Nearly p'd on myself with the fish & procreating! Yes, in my book (on ocassion), pool + water = bath on a hot summer day....... my back yard, my water (same water I fill the tub with?!) it's clean, they come out cleaner than they were before they went in it :)
    ~~Wondering out loud ~~
    Now what would my neighbor's do if I whipped out the shampoo in the back yard? I just may have to give that a try before the summer's over ;) Just to see their reactions...I kid.....
    Have a great road trip :)

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  9. As far as I'm concerned, getting caught in the rain without an umbrella counts as a bath...

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  10. Thanks ladies for all the support and deflecting some of the Mommy guilt.
    May all of our children spend their summer enjoying ther childhood and being spectacularly adn blissfully "summer kissed!"
    Happy Mothering!

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  11. HA. Love this "fish rule" ... we have a pool (salt water) and I still let that count as a bath at times during the summer ... for the teenagers. All is good :)

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Love to hear your thoughts on my truth! Please leave some love, insight , or even disagreement with mine. I believe in free thought and speech. Happy Mothering!!