Water Park Bloopers

By Meg Hodson

Summer is in full swing around our house.  The temperature is soaring.  A summer mainstay for my kids is definitely the water park.  And by water park, I mean the public fountains and play areas that are free and pop up around both urban and suburban cities.  Living in the greater Portland, Oregon area, we are surrounded by them!  

We hit almost 100 degrees last week (which is H-O-T for this area), so the water park was a natural go-to activity.  It, of course, was packed, but still manageable.  Even the local news was interviewing children. When I saw the reporter bouncing around, naturally I tracked him down on Twitter and tweeted about it. Then, I started surveying the water park scene with my social media/blogging eye.  And that's when the fun really began.  What follows is unofficial Water Park Blooper list, a kind, gentle list of things NOT to do:

1.  Underwear Is Not Swimwear.  When I see babies and toddlers being dipped into the water in their underwear, it is absolutely adorable.  When I see a five year old boy running around in his tighty-whities and they are clinging to every body part, I draw the line.  Can someone get this kid a swimsuit?  Or even just a regular pair of shorts?

2.  Jeans Are Not Swimwear.  I had to chuckle when I saw this parent fully soaked in their jeans.  Those are going to be fun to get off!  This rule can also be applied to women who think a bra and tank top qualify as a swimwear.  It does not.

3.  Smoking Is For Bars.  Well, it's not even for most bars anymore.  But smoking around kids as they play and have fun is just not cool.

4.  Water Parks Are Not A Fashion Runway.  As fun and fashionable as the gentleman below looks, it's not for the water fountains. Keep to the sidelines, Dad.  

5.  Watch Your Kids.  Seems like a given, right?  Well, there were still children running in areas they shouldn't, squirting their water guns in areas where parents are sitting, drinking the fountain water.  Now, I know these things happen, even with the best parents supervising their children.  So, this goes out to the smokers who think they are sitting far enough way to supervise and smoke without anyone smelling----we can still smell the smoke and yelling at your kids from far away does not count as supervision.  

If you have any fun water park stories or bloopers, I would love if you shared them below!