Swim lessons and poop accidents - 4.5 yr old!

[Anonymous]

DD has poop accidents during intense swim lessons, though not during normal, relaxed swim and play. A history: We started DD in a week-long swim survival classes each summer at an early age. The classes are intense - designed to teach the child to survive a fall in to a pool (child has to make way to the surface, float on back, paddle to the side, and get out). She did this camp at age 1.5 and 2.5 and EVERY SINGLE TIME she would have blow-out diarrhea in her swim diaper during the lessons. We thought something about the stress of survival swimming created a physiological bowel release. We didn't do the camp last year at age 3.5, but started again this week and she has had TWO poop accidents in the pool in 4 days! She's 4.5 and has been potty trained since age 2. It's not like a regular accident - more like spontaneous diarrhea - and I don't even know that she's aware of it happening. She's old enough to be really embarrassed about it, it's embarrassing for us as her parents and of course it's really unhygienic. This has never happened during regular, relaxed swim or water play so I'm sure it's related to the stress of intense swimming lessons, or maybe swallowing chlorinated water during these lessons?

Has anyone else had this happen with their child? Is there anything to do about this, other than find a large swim diaper and hope she grows out of it?

[Anonymous]

Um, take her out of the class.

[Anonymous]

Do not put her in the pool!!!! That's a health hazard to others. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Do not enroll her until older, her system is obviously having a response to the stress. And if it leaks, they'll shut the pool down while they shock it. Criminy

[Anonymous]

You are traumatizing your child to the point that it creates a health hazard.

A 4 year old is old enough to learn to swim the regular way. Do normal swim lessons and stop the abusive ones.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, pull her out for god sakes, you are going to ruin swimming for her forever. If she has already taken the survival class she has the tools to save herself (we just finished a course like this ourselves) no need to keep traumatizing her.

[Anonymous]

So, your child is LITERALLY shitting her pants in terror (a fight or flight reaction) and you are confused about whether you should continue?

FFS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, your child is LITERALLY shitting her pants in terror (a fight or flight reaction) and you are confused about whether you should continue?

FFS.

PP, but +1

[Anonymous]

OP here - OK, should clarify that I am OF COURSE concerned about sanitation. The first accident happened her first day in lesson, so I wasn't prepared for that. I'm also not sure that it happened during the lesson or immediately afterwards in the car - she was wearing a light colored swim suit so I think I would have noticed when she got out of the pool, though I can't be sure. When we were driving she said she had to go to the bathroom, so I pulled into a McDonalds to take her and when we got inside I realized she had had an accident.

Each day since, I make sure she's pooped at least once (if not twice) before we go to the lesson and we also sit on the toilet immediately before class. I've also put her in a rubber underwear thing under her swim suit - it's not absorbent, but its the type of rubber pant that toddlers wear over underwear when they're potty training. I also watch closely to see if there are any signs she needs to go to the bathroom, like squeezing her legs together, shivering, etc. and I've taken her to the bathroom in the middle of a class when I saw this happen (though she didn't poop at that time). The second accident happened AFTER her lesson - she said she had to go to the bathroom and it looked rather urgent. We ran to the bathroom and she had the accident in the stall but before sitting on the toilet.

So, I don't think that she's pooping in the pool and continuing to swim. More like, the swimming lessons create an urgent need to poop and she has diarrhea.

So, back to my original question: Has anyone else had this happen with their child? Is there anything else we can do about this, other than finding a large swim diaper (just in case - again, I am fairly sure it happens when she gets out of the pool, but not certain), and hope she grows out of it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, your child is LITERALLY shitting her pants in terror (a fight or flight reaction) and you are confused about whether you should continue?

FFS.

PP, but +1

NP and I agree 100%. You are cruel to keep her in that class. And very, very irresponsible to other children and parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - OK, should clarify that I am OF COURSE concerned about sanitation. The first accident happened her first day in lesson, so I wasn't prepared for that. I'm also not sure that it happened during the lesson or immediately afterwards in the car - she was wearing a light colored swim suit so I think I would have noticed when she got out of the pool, though I can't be sure. When we were driving she said she had to go to the bathroom, so I pulled into a McDonalds to take her and when we got inside I realized she had had an accident.

Each day since, I make sure she's pooped at least once (if not twice) before we go to the lesson and we also sit on the toilet immediately before class. I've also put her in a rubber underwear thing under her swim suit - it's not absorbent, but its the type of rubber pant that toddlers wear over underwear when they're potty training. I also watch closely to see if there are any signs she needs to go to the bathroom, like squeezing her legs together, shivering, etc. and I've taken her to the bathroom in the middle of a class when I saw this happen (though she didn't poop at that time). The second accident happened AFTER her lesson - she said she had to go to the bathroom and it looked rather urgent. We ran to the bathroom and she had the accident in the stall but before sitting on the toilet.

So, I don't think that she's pooping in the pool and continuing to swim. More like, the swimming lessons create an urgent need to poop and she has diarrhea.

So, back to my original question: Has anyone else had this happen with their child? Is there anything else we can do about this, other than finding a large swim diaper (just in case - again, I am fairly sure it happens when she gets out of the pool, but not certain), and hope she grows out of it?

No! She is not ready for this type of stressful class. PULL HER OUT.

[Anonymous]

Intense exercise, including swimming and running, has been known to get all systems moving. I know adults who have had fecal incontinence during a race, for example.

The question others have raised, some not so nicely, is why you continue to put your child in such an intensive situation that it's leading to this level of incontinence. If she's now had this same intense "survival" class three years in a row and still can't swim, it sounds like you need to find a different type of lesson.

The solution is not a large swim diaper. The solution is to stop doing this class. That seems like a no-brainer.

[Anonymous]

This is so awful. It is not an "accident." She is so terrified that she is losing control of her bodily functions. She is worried she is freaking dying. Please stop with the abuse.

[Anonymous]

OP again, after seeing the responses that came in while I was typing the last one -

I really don't think DD is traumatized to the point she's sh*TTing herself in terror. She's past the point of survival skills - she can jump in and swim the length of the pool switching from her back to front, turning to breathe. The classes are hard (now she's trying to pick up rings while swimming), but not traumatic. (I agree that they may have been traumatic when she was 1.5, although she always seemed to handle them much better than my older child did). Also, she likes these classes - she doesn't fuss or fight about getting in the pool, she's eager to participate, she's proud of her accomplishments. No doubt, though, the classes are tough and probably causing a physical stress reaction which leads to the pooping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - OK, should clarify that I am OF COURSE concerned about sanitation. The first accident happened her first day in lesson, so I wasn't prepared for that. I'm also not sure that it happened during the lesson or immediately afterwards in the car - she was wearing a light colored swim suit so I think I would have noticed when she got out of the pool, though I can't be sure. When we were driving she said she had to go to the bathroom, so I pulled into a McDonalds to take her and when we got inside I realized she had had an accident.

Each day since, I make sure she's pooped at least once (if not twice) before we go to the lesson and we also sit on the toilet immediately before class. I've also put her in a rubber underwear thing under her swim suit - it's not absorbent, but its the type of rubber pant that toddlers wear over underwear when they're potty training. I also watch closely to see if there are any signs she needs to go to the bathroom, like squeezing her legs together, shivering, etc. and I've taken her to the bathroom in the middle of a class when I saw this happen (though she didn't poop at that time). The second accident happened AFTER her lesson - she said she had to go to the bathroom and it looked rather urgent. We ran to the bathroom and she had the accident in the stall but before sitting on the toilet.

So, I don't think that she's pooping in the pool and continuing to swim. More like, the swimming lessons create an urgent need to poop and she has diarrhea.

So, back to my original question: Has anyone else had this happen with their child? Is there anything else we can do about this, other than finding a large swim diaper (just in case - again, I am fairly sure it happens when she gets out of the pool, but not certain), and hope she grows out of it?

Yes, take her out of that stressful situation! This is what "shit your pants fear" means. She is way too stressed out and her stress hormones are reacting to the terror.