The other day I went again swimming with the kids. Instead of going to a pool 5 minutes from the house, we drove ~20 minutes to Overijse pool. There are 2 reasons for it; Overijse pool has got slides the kids love and most important, there you do not need to use a swim cap.
In Brussels local regulation requires you to use a swim cap. Yep, it’s a rule and we have tested it once and were thrown out from the pool… I’ve been told it is targeted to avoid head lice, which seems to be a problem now and then (at school they have sometimes checks but luckily it has not concerned our family so far).
This is all good, but if you think of another hygiene aspect we have again something to wonder. The thing is that the shower areas are mixed and people need to shower with their swim suits on. And some do not shower at all before going to the pool. Back in Finland – the country of Sauna – in public pools we have separate dressing and shower rooms with sauna for men and women, and rules say for hygiene reasons you must shower without swim suit before going to the pool.
I’m not a pro on this area, but common sense says that while all ages from toddlers to grannies use the pools without proper washing, a law about shower cap usage is not much of a help.
Another strange thing happened perhaps 2 years ago when we went to a local water park. After some slides and swim we felt like going to the sauna to warm up and relax. All fine but the staff didn’t allow children less than 15 years to the sauna! Yes we tried to explain these sauna-ignorant people that our kids have been in sauna since they were about 6 months old but “we have our rules” was the answer. No sauna for us.
Good thing is that the gym we go to in Brussels is part of a Swedish chain, and even if Swedes are a bit behind in Sauna culture, the gym sauna is built by a Finn who lives in Sweden. With a joy we enjoy it now and then together with the kids and have never faced a situation that someone would have thrown too much water...
Our previous gym was a Turkish style with multiple saunas; two “Scandinavian” with lower (70°C) and higher temperature (85°C), steam sauna and even an infra red one (don’t bother to try; it’s like sitting in a microwave oven). That one was a joint sauna so we were there with our swim suits on, even though in Finland families normally go to sauna naked.
Then one time in comes this man with a bath robe, takes it off and bare naked goes for shower and sauna – right in front of me, my wife, son and daughter! I know it’s a bit more common in Germany but please, save at least the kids from this…
In Brussels local regulation requires you to use a swim cap. Yep, it’s a rule and we have tested it once and were thrown out from the pool… I’ve been told it is targeted to avoid head lice, which seems to be a problem now and then (at school they have sometimes checks but luckily it has not concerned our family so far).
This is all good, but if you think of another hygiene aspect we have again something to wonder. The thing is that the shower areas are mixed and people need to shower with their swim suits on. And some do not shower at all before going to the pool. Back in Finland – the country of Sauna – in public pools we have separate dressing and shower rooms with sauna for men and women, and rules say for hygiene reasons you must shower without swim suit before going to the pool.I’m not a pro on this area, but common sense says that while all ages from toddlers to grannies use the pools without proper washing, a law about shower cap usage is not much of a help.
Another strange thing happened perhaps 2 years ago when we went to a local water park. After some slides and swim we felt like going to the sauna to warm up and relax. All fine but the staff didn’t allow children less than 15 years to the sauna! Yes we tried to explain these sauna-ignorant people that our kids have been in sauna since they were about 6 months old but “we have our rules” was the answer. No sauna for us.
Good thing is that the gym we go to in Brussels is part of a Swedish chain, and even if Swedes are a bit behind in Sauna culture, the gym sauna is built by a Finn who lives in Sweden. With a joy we enjoy it now and then together with the kids and have never faced a situation that someone would have thrown too much water...Our previous gym was a Turkish style with multiple saunas; two “Scandinavian” with lower (70°C) and higher temperature (85°C), steam sauna and even an infra red one (don’t bother to try; it’s like sitting in a microwave oven). That one was a joint sauna so we were there with our swim suits on, even though in Finland families normally go to sauna naked.
Then one time in comes this man with a bath robe, takes it off and bare naked goes for shower and sauna – right in front of me, my wife, son and daughter! I know it’s a bit more common in Germany but please, save at least the kids from this…
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