Most adults tend to swim at the Council pool closest to home, and that's a sensible thing. But, after having kids, many of us find ourselves driving all over town in search of the pool that's going to work best for our children at a particular age -- whether they're babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers or older.
When my sons were young, I found myself spending summer visiting suburbs I'd never been to before, because somebody had said those fateful words: 'There's a great pool for kids there.'
So what did I find out? Well, my favourite three pools for kids are as follows:
Yeronga Park Swimming Pool (55 School Rd, Yeronga)
Yeronga Pool has a (very) heated teaching pool for babies and toddlers (used for lessons only), a (slightly less) heated 25m pool (open to the public when there aren't lessons on), and a 50m lap pool. It also has a 'mushroom' pool, which is a great depth for young kids and features mushrooms that rain water and jets that fire sprays in all directions.
Learn-to-swim pool at Yeronga
Yeronga is the most attractive pool I've been to, with Balinese huts and open-air decks, and a good coffee shop that sells decent meals. It also has a trampoline for free use (parents must supervise), a kids' club child-minding service, and a big park next door that has a good playground.
I spent a lot of time at Yeronga when my sons were small, and held one very successful birthday party there (you can book spaces, barbecues or even one of the pools for parties).
Newmarket Swimming Pool (71 Alderson St, Newmarket)
Newmarket Pool is perfect for kids from toddler age upwards. Its point of difference is a toddler's pool that features two toddler-scale water slides. You can stand in knee-depth water and watch your child walk up a short flight of steps, get into one of the enclosed tubes, and whoosh safely down to you.
Playground at Newmarket Pool
In addition, Newmarket has a larger slide on one side of the 50m pool, which is good for older kids. The large pool sometimes also features a floating jumpy castle.
You can hire inner tubes, use a barbecue or playground, or buy the usual pool food from the kiosk. There's also a heated teaching pool that's open to the public when lessons finish.
Chermside wading pool, with water slides in background
Chermside Swimming Pool (375 Hamilton Rd, Chermside) (no website currently available)
Chermside is the next level up from Newmarket -- a water-slide park that isn't as wild as the Gold Coast operations, but still gives my boys (aged 8 and 10) a thrill. And it's a lot closer and cheaper than the coast.
As well as a standard lap pool and toddler pool, Chermside features a number of water slides that open only for the summer season. These include an inner-tube ride, an enclosed water slide, an open water slide and two drop slides. My husband and kids love it, and I find enough to do to enjoy myself (I'm not a big fan of high-speed slides). You can book birthday parties here, and they have a cafe selling typical takeaway food. A day pass for a family of four costs $30.
If you're looking for something free and central, there's always the
South Bank swimming lagoons. Some people I know also like
Musgrave Park Swimming Pool in South Brisbane, which has two square wading pools, big grassy lawns, and views of the city's skyscrapers.
But what about you? Where's your favourite pool for kids? Share your suburban secrets and help other parents splash out with their kids this summer.
