Why You And Your Kids Should Wear Water Shoes
When the air temps hit 100°+ pool deck temperatures start to skyrocket. Kids can easily burn their feet on pool decks. Burnt feet are not fun. You’ll end up having to carry your child for the next few days because their feet will hurt too much to walk. I still remember my parents rushing my little brother to the hospital because he walked on hot pavers in our backyard and seriously burned the bottom of his bare feet when he was 1-yr-old and I was only 4-yrs-old. Children’s skin is much more delicate than adult’s skin.
Water shoes are better than flip flops because they can be worn in and out of the pool. As a result you don't have to worry about your children burning their feet, stepping on bees, tarantula wasps, bird poop, other poop, food, and sharp objects. They also protect feet and toes from getting scraped up from the bottom and sides of the pool.
You know kids aren’t paying attention to where they walk whether they are wearing shoes or barefoot. They get out of the pool and are not thinking about putting their flip flops on. Plus, by taking off flip flops at a community pool there is a higher likelihood they can be lost or forgotten. At least if you have them wear water shoes you have one less worry at the pool.
Look how hot turf can get on a Vegas summer day!! You don’t want your kids running around barefoot even on turf.
This is the exact same day, exact same day, but the temperature of the turf in the shade. Still VERY hot!
I HIGHLY recommend wearing water shoes to the pool, not just in the hot summer days, but any time for the reasons listed above.
For swimming lessons I recommend taking the water shoes off at the side of the pool because they can weigh down younger students’ feet and make it harder to kick.
Here are some additional helpful hints for these 100°+ days:
If you don’t have water shoes and no shade around the entrance of your pool, wear your flip flops to where you enter/exit the water, then flip them upside down to keep them from baking in the sun and burning your feet when you put them back on after swimming. And/or put your towel over your flip flops. They can get super hot in the sun too.
If your deck gets so hot that your child can not touch it without burning their hands when swimming that is a very dangerous swimming situation. A child has to chose between burning their hands and drowning. Not a fun choice! People need to be able to safely grab the edge of a pool at any time when swimming. Put a wet, colorful towel on the deck with an edge hanging into the pool. The edge hanging in the pool will continuously wick water on to the towel keeping it wet and cool. Use a colorful towel so it’s easy for children to see it underwater and swim to it.
Create a shaded path to and from the pool. Kids are notorious for being forgetful and lazy. They will try to run to the house without their flip flops on and will burn their feet. Use movable umbrellas, towels, and/or outdoor rugs. Secure the rugs and towels with something so winds don’t blow them away or into the pool.
