No Shirts Allowed

Our children were invited to a pool party at Pocahontas State Park. We were amazed that the pool is pretty clean but were disappointed with the rules of the pool. Our little man can't swim and is fair skinned so we always use precautions with him. Our girls (with the use of sunscreen) tan pretty well and are natural sun bunnies.

We had placed a t shirt on C so he wouldn't get too much sun as he is fair skinned and a red head which is not a good combination for fun in the sun activities. The pool policy is no shirts allowed regardless of the reason. They state that the dyes from the clothing affects the chemicals in the pool which I feel is bogus. We've been to plenty of pools and never had a situation come up where we were told that no shirts were allowed. With Pocahontas being a STATE PARK, you would think that they would be more flexible and understanding when it comes to fair skinned people.

Another issue that we had was C was wearing floaties on his arms to help him keep his balance. This is OK to wear in the kiddie pool but once you go to the larger pool where the cool stuff is, the floaties have to come off. The life guard couldn't give us an explanation. They only stated that it was the pool policy. So if you have any physical disabilities and require aid from devices for support, I guess you need to stay in the kiddie pool. I don't think floaties have ever caused a child to drown as the purpose is to keep them floating. Again, we've used the floaties at another pool and that wasn't an issue with the life guard even when we were in 4 1/2 feet of water with him. We never leave C alone in pools or around water as a safety precaution.

The pool was nice and clean and we didn't mind paying the $4 parking fee, however, it was a birthday party and the hostess had paid admission to the pool for the party guests. The admissions person charged us to get in as she stated that the host had already paid for the party and we weren't included. The host took our ticket and was able to get a refund. The host did pay for us ahead of time so she didn't understand why there was a misunderstanding. I hope communication gets better so other hosts won't have to deal with the confusion.

The kids had a great time and overall the experience was fun. Just remember at Pocahontas Swimming Pool no shirts are allowed and floaties need to stay in the kiddie pool.

Have a great night,

Beamer 319