When my twin daughters were 4 months old, a friend gave us these amazing one-piece bathing suits covered in hot pink sparkles.
I couldn't wait to get the girls in them. They looked awesome with the sparkles highlighting their little bellies.
Then I remembered … swim diapers!
I couldn't exactly put infants in warm pool water without them. Clearly, they could not be trusted to not pee. But when I slipped the suits on them again and the high-cut sides revealed Nemo-covered diaper instead of chubby legs, well, the look was not the same.
Honestly, I don't think we ever wore them. Swim diapers and sun screen were hassle enough. Not long after, we visited a friend's pool and I was surprised to see they kept it even more minimal.
Their kids' swimsuit repertoire? Nothing at all.
Being naked is "natural," plus diapers are not great for the environment, my friend argued. True, but is your kid's pee — or worse — good for us?
And what about the beach? There are always plenty of toddlers running free in the surf in their birthday suits. And while you may not see it, you know that means they're peeing in the ocean. Ugh.
I have environment guilt like everyone else. God knows how many landfills I've contributed to between bottles, diapers, and wipes alone. I should have mentioned the fact that there are reusable/washable options, but all I could think about was: Isn't going diaper-free kind of … gross?
She claimed to know if her kids needed to go. (I guess I am not that clairvoyant.) We kept our swim diapers on and kept a safe distance from our hosts in the water.
I've decided swim diaper etiquette comes down to this: If it's your pool, you can do whatever you want. But if you are a guest in someone's water venue — or certainly at a public pool — a stocked diaper bag is required.
Do you put your child in swim diapers?
Image via Yaya 2006/Flickr
