A mum was left angry after she was told by her sister that her three-year-old couldn’t play in the pool.
One mum has explained her fury after she was invited to her sister’s house for a barbecue. She was told that her children could play in the pool but when they arrived, her three-year-old son was banned from swimming with everyone else.
Advert
In a post shared on Reddit, the anonymous mum said her sister - whom she gave the pseudonym “Ava” to protect her identity - recently purchased a house with a built-in swimming pool in the garden. Ava invited family over for a small gathering, which mentioned ‘letting the kids play in the pool’.
However, plans changed once the mum arrived at the garden gathering. She was told that her three-year-old son would not be allowed in the pool because he’s still being potty trained and Ava decided it would be ‘unhygienic’ to let him in the water.
"She mentioned letting the kids play in the pool so I only assumed my kids would get to be included,” she wrote in her Reddit post. “We are potty training, although my youngest is still in diapers at the moment.
"At the barbecue, I was getting my youngest ready for the pool by changing him into a swim diaper. Ava pulled me aside and told me she doesn't think it's 'hygienic' for my youngest to play in the pool, since swim diapers don't hold pee and she asked that he doesn't swim in the pool with the other kids playing in it.
Advert
"I didn't think this was fair and told Ava that lots of people, adults and kids, pee in the pool and it would be no different at a public pool so what's the problem?"
The disappointed mum said her sister was being ‘condescending’ toward her and her son, but Ava stuck to her guns and refused to let the little boy in the pool.
Ava’s decision was supported by the rest of the family, but the mum was still unhappy with the decision.
Advert
"She was being really condescending and wouldn't listen to me at all and said that he can play in the pool when he's 'toilet trained', and said it's not fair on the other kids,” she continued.
"At this point, my son was crying because he wanted to swim in the pool and I told Ava she was being cold but it's her house and her pool so do what you want. Ava accused me of trying to guilt trip her and told me to just drop it.
"I was getting upset myself at this point and I told our parents and other siblings about what Ava did. They told me it was not a big deal and that it was not worth arguing with her over and to try not to let it bother me. I wasn't happy with this because this essentially means they were siding with her and downplaying how she treated me and my son.
"I left the barbecue early with my family because we didn't feel welcome after that."
Advert
Ava attempted to reach out to her sister after the party, insisting she wasn’t trying to ‘exclude’ her nephew. However, the mum refused to forgive her sister, insisting she had ‘damaged her relationship with her nephew’.
The post divided Reddit users however many supported Ava’s perspective.
One person who defended the mum said: “She [Ava] could have told her this BEFORE the kid was already getting changed and avoided two adults and a child having a meltdown over it.”
Advert
Another person in defence of the mum theorised: “Ava’s kids may be potty trained but that pool is filled with pee I put money on it. Don’t single out a young child who won't understand at all why he can't swim and the other kids can. I would [have] gone in the pool and taken a sh*t.”
Another commenter, who defended Ava, said: “Not sure why peeing in the pool is considered OK by a lot of people but it’s f*cking disgusting and your sister has a right to say no.
Someone else added: “This isn't a public pool. It's her private pool at her house, and if she doesn't want to risk having someone p**s in it, she should be able to make that call without being argued at. Peeing in public pools is gross and wrong too, FYI."
Gregory Robinson