If your kid has worked as a lifeguard -

[Anonymous]

Do they like it? Do they have a sense that it’s too much responsibility to be in charge of another person’s life?

My kid (15 y/o, nearly 16) is a strong swimmer, swam competitively for 7 years, but says he doesn’t want to lifeguard for this reason. Just curious if other kids feel/have felt this way but went on to lifeguard anyway?

[Anonymous]

My niece did it last summer and said never again. The kids were so disrespectful and the pool rules weren’t enforced. She’s working on an ice cream shop this summer.

[Anonymous]

My kid was interested and I discouraged it. I predicted he would be like many of the teen guards at our pool, bored and more curious about what was going on at the snack bar or life guard station than what was happening in the pool. It sounds like your kid actually has the maturity to do the job, but I wouldn't force it if they are not into it.

[Anonymous]

my otherwise very anxious kid is just starting to lifeguard, but has not expressed this particular concern.

I rescued four kids from possible drowning when I was a lifeguard in high school (one absolutely would have drowned -- we were the only two people at the pool). I look back on it and think "better me, the diligent and straight arrow kid, than some stoner working as a lifeguard who might have missed him."

As a side note, it amazes me only in hindsight how there was no follow-up whatsoever about the incidents. No after-action reviews, no critiques, no fact-findings, no lessons learned, no reports, no paperwork. Just a friendly warning from me to not leave the shallow area again until you know how to swim. Obviously, I've been in government and the corporate world too long.

[Anonymous]

2 kids who have both guarded every year since age 15. They love it, at our community pool with friends, and at their respective summer camps. Both have had saves at the community pool, mostly very young children using floaties with parents not paying attention, small kids getting in over their heads, and one adult emergency that resulted in a back board being used and 911 being called.

Never has either felt the job was too hard or too much responsibility

[Anonymous]

My daughter was on swim team and hated lifeguarding, too hot, too dull, bratty children and inattentive parents. She worked as a swim instructor (through the city) during summers and loved it.

[Anonymous]

It’s a $hitty job. My kid did it for 5 years. Crappy pay. A$$hole parents and lazy bosses. She’s not doing it this year.

She does private swim lessons and makes way more money.

[Anonymous]

Parent here. I was a lifeguard for five years. It was a crappy, high stress job but was what was available to me at that point. Essentially high volume baby sitting.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on your kid, the pool & their co-workers. If it's a place that's generally crowded, where people drop their kids in the water and then go sit on their phones (especially nannies), be very careful as even good swimmers can quickly get into trouble. Indoor County pools and outdoor neighborhood/apartment/membership based pools are generally better because the kids may be there for supervised water activities (ie swim class) & your kid may know the families. There's more physical work than I remember & guards still work with the public, but all of those are good life lessons. Although McDonald's pays more, my DC thought it was more fun than flipping burgers and enjoyed their surprisingly diverse group of similarly aged co-workers.

[Anonymous]

I was a lifeguard as a teenager. I loved it. I was a good guard but also managed to find it relaxing because it was outside and typically all I did was scan the pool over and over and tell kids not to run. I was a serious student during the school year so I loved the mental break. On very crowded days(like July 4) it was more stressful because I truly couldn't see what was going on in the deep end. I ended up with melanoma as an adult most likely from burns I got as a lifeguard. But other than that it was a great job. I would never lifeguard in open water (lake or ocean) because you can't see what's going on and you're dealing with mother nature .

[Anonymous]

This will be my kids 3rd summer doing it at our neighborhood pool which isn't typically too crowded. They also have swam competitively (HS, club, and summer) for 10 years.

Pros:
Lots of their friends work there so they have built in work buddies
For us - easy to walk to and decent money. Bigger pools pay more, but come with more stress

Cons
Hot and boring sometimes
Disrespectful kids/parents
Our pool company can be super disorganized as far as schedules/communication

[Anonymous]

I was a lifeguard in college and loved it. I never worked at crowded community pools, but small apartment complex pools and university pools were great. I agree with the PP that said to teach private swim lessons to supplement income.

[Anonymous]

I taught swim lessons at my local YMCA from 14-18 and I highly recommend it over life guarding. It's more fun and active since you're in the water and you're only responsible for 1-3 children at a time. This will vary by pool. but it's also often a great set up as you can work as many or few sessions as you like and not lose your job. Most kids are signing up for a session that runs 4 or 5 days a week for two weeks and then another session starts with different kids. There are few teen jobs where it's okay to not work 2 weeks in the middle of the summer so you can go with your family on vacation. I worked at another indoor facility year-round and it was similarly flexible. I could come in and out depending on what I had going on at school for that period of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My niece did it last summer and said never again. The kids were so disrespectful and the pool rules weren’t enforced. She’s working on an ice cream shop this summer.

DH was a D1 college swimmer and said you couldn't pay him enough to lifeguard for just this reason. He taught private swim lessons instead.

[Anonymous]

My teen does it at an indoor pool and likes it well enough. It's mostly adults doing laps or kids taking lessons with an instructor. Her least favorite days are the ones when camps arrive for the day but those aren't very often. Maybe have your kid apply at an indoor pool.