Public bathing

I live in an urban area - technically, it's a suburb, but it's an urban "up-and-coming" suburb. There's a town square that has been developed with shops, restaurants, bars, a couple of movie theaters, and a green area. In the middle of the town square, there's a large courtyard with an equally large fountain. This fountain sits directly in front of a long row of shops and restaurants that have outdoor seating. In a perfect world, it would be a nice, relaxing place to sit and do some people-watching.

Kids love fountains. I get that. They're drawn to the splashing water like moths to a flame. When I was a kid, I'm sure my parents had to grab me and stop me from jumping into a few fountains. But they did stop me. My parents never dressed me up in a swim suit, grabbed a few water noodles and beach towels, drove downtown, and encouraged me to splash around in the public wishing well. Because that would have been wrong. And very, very tacky.

So I'm baffled why local parents have decided that the public fountain downtown is a swimming pool/playground for their kids. Every weekend during nice weather, this fountain is full of kids dressed in swimsuits, splashing and running around. It's one thing if you let your kid indulge himself *once* and let him splash around, or maybe just get his feet wet. But to actually premeditate it, dress your kid up in a swim suit, and take him there for the sole purpose of playing in the fountain? And even worse, sometimes the ADULTS also dress up in swim suits, so they can splash around, too. No no no no no! What ever happened to kiddie pools and backyard sprinklers? Or even community swimming pools? (I know we have several around here.) I know I shouldn't take this sort of thing personally, but every time I see it, it pings my tacky meter. Maybe I'll understand it when I have kids.


(photos courtesy of the New York Times)