Anonymous wrote:Not addressed to the OP, but if you live in Arlington or Alexandria (or another area with good public facilities) why do you pay for a pricey pool membership when the public pool options are decent and so much cheaper?

Not snark, just genuinely curious

I live in MoCo and think the public pools are great - but they're also horribly overcrowded during the weekends. Also, a lot of kids unsupervised in the pools and while they're having a great time, it's overwhelming for younger kids - and me. I got kicked in the face last summer (cut lip, bleeding) with kids horseplaying pretty roughly and the life guard just staring into space. Even the baby pool is packed and parents aren't very mindful of the kids so it stops being fun and more stressful.

Every once in a while during the summer I will get off work and take DCs to the public pool nearby because they have slides and a tube/lazy river. But it's early and before the camps descend.

Keep the pool membership. We have a great neighborhood pool that while we do have to drive to as it is just over a mile away. Get into a rhythm of going after work a couple of times a week over the summer, count on an easy dinner there once a week or so. We use it as an fun almost date night as we got to know other parents with kids our age and would meet most Friday nights to socialize - put babes into jammies as we left (they'll be tuckered out) and have rest of evening to chill. As they get older it does become social center for your kids until everyone leaves in August.

Not addressed to the OP, but if you live in Arlington or Alexandria (or another area with good public facilities) why do you pay for a pricey pool membership when the public pool options are decent and so much cheaper?

Not snark, just genuinely curious

We've got a similar situation in terms of work schedule, cost, distance, etc. When DS was that small we didn't use the pool much, but once DS was 4 we used it all the time, and still do - DS is 7. For us, being members means we don't think twice about going for just a dip after work and before dinner, but if we had to pay for every visit we'd feel like we had to make it a good long one. Can't wait till the pool opens!

Anonymous wrote:We've thought about this but are going to go with it anyway, once we get off the 3+yr waiting list.

Do you and your DH swim? In addition to enjoying it with DD, our local private pool also has evening hours 2x/wk just for adult lap swim. If we just used the baby pool once a week, I wouldn't find it worth it, but the more that each of us gets to enjoy the water then the more its value rises.

This is great point. DH has been trying to get back into triathlons, and I used to swim once upon a time. As the guilt from being away from DS every waking hour that we aren't at work fades, maybe we will use it more this way, too. I like the wetsuit idea, too. We avoided the pool a lot last year when the water was too cool. We did use a long sleeve rash guard which helped some.

Okay, I feel better about the expense....thanks, PP's!

We've thought about this but are going to go with it anyway, once we get off the 3+yr waiting list.

Do you and your DH swim? In addition to enjoying it with DD, our local private pool also has evening hours 2x/wk just for adult lap swim. If we just used the baby pool once a week, I wouldn't find it worth it, but the more that each of us gets to enjoy the water then the more its value rises.

Anonymous wrote:I think each year as your child gets older you will find you use it more, so it will become worth it. Combination of your child enjoying the pool more and learning to swim, meeting other people (often the kids are the initiators and the parents chat once their kids are splashing with each other in the baby pool), and your child being able to stay up a bit later as she gets older so you may find you use the pool after work once a week or so (we love having pizza at the pool one night and swimming when its cooler out and less crowded). Your child was basically a baby last year so needs to grow into these things. I'd stick with it.

Yes, this. We joined the PG pool when our kid was 2, and I felt it was totally not worth it. I'm so happy we did, because now the pool has a WL a mile long and we know many, many friends from school, the neighborhood, and the pool. Our child is now 5 and we can't wait for pool season!

I would keep it. By next summer, i predict you will use it more. Pools are great at wearing kids out and when our oldest was 2 we started to go almost daily--head over right after pickup (snack in the car), let him swim with one parent while the other fed the baby, then eat a small dinner in the car on the way home. He'd be so tired and ready for bed and we enjoyed it too. Now we have 3 who are older and do basically the same thing except that only one parent takes all three kids and the other gets to relax at home and make dinner. We shower them there and they eat then go straight to bed. And all that is just our during-the-week routine. On weekends they can spend HOURS there.

One thing that might help you get your money's worth this summer is a wet suit for your kid. Little ones often get cold so fast that it feels like a waste to drive all the way there for 20 minutes. We liked these: http://www.warmbelly.com

I also think the pool is a great place to meet other families, but only if you go regularly at the same time--e.g., decide to go every Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon and you will be more likely to see the same folks over and over and can strike up a conversation that way.

I think each year as your child gets older you will find you use it more, so it will become worth it. Combination of your child enjoying the pool more and learning to swim, meeting other people (often the kids are the initiators and the parents chat once their kids are splashing with each other in the baby pool), and your child being able to stay up a bit later as she gets older so you may find you use the pool after work once a week or so (we love having pizza at the pool one night and swimming when its cooler out and less crowded). Your child was basically a baby last year so needs to grow into these things. I'd stick with it.

OP here. Yes, you have to get on a wait list and pay the one time membership fee (I think it was $150-200) again if your membership lapses. We don't have to pay that if we continue being members. It certainly isn't going to make us bankrupt to do it, but I guess I'm just trying to feel better about the expense! I was hoping we'd meet some other families and make friends there, since we are kind of new to the area, but that didn't really happen.

$700....yikes! That probably would decide things for me! I miss our former city where every neighborhood had a pool within walking distance.

We have a membership even though our DCs (1 and 3)aren't at the optimum age to enjoy the pool and other offerings like swim team.

DH and I WOH and during the summer we're usually at the pool once or twice during the evenings week days, especially on the really hot summer days. We usually go at least one weekend day, too, but often both. Lots of playdates at the pool and it's a great way for us to catch up with friends we know who belong to the same pool.

It is pricey for the use we get out of it ($500 for the summer), but we waited two years to get a spot and if we give it up who knows how long it would take to get back on.

We'd like kids to eventually take swim class and/or join the swim team when they're older.

That price isn't so bad. Ours is over $700! If you can get there at least four times a week, that slews than $10 a visit.

I think you'll find it much more necessary once DS is school-age. Is it a situation where if you get rid of your membership now you won't be able to get in again later? If that's the case I might just suck it up and keep it if it weren't an extreme hardship on the budget.

At that age, I think I would get a small inflatable pool for the backyard (if you have one) and instead of a pool membership.

We have to drive about 10 minutes to our pool, and last year when DS was 6-9 months, we really didn't use it that much. We aren't home until usually 5:30. I work 4 days a week, and DS only naps once a day now, so I think we'll use it more this year, but it's awfully expensive to only go a few times a year. We live in an area where the public options are few and far between. Do you think it's worth it to try it one more year? Our pool is about $430 for a family for 3-3.5 months. There is a baby pool which is being upgraded for this summer.