I’m wondering what other Christians think about swimming in public pools. No matter how “modest” a swim-suit is, it is still revealing! Does modesty end when we leave the pool’s changing room?

What are we teaching our children when we exhort them to be modest but the moment we go swimming, we bare almost more than we conceal?

Purity begins with the heart.

And to the pure, all things are pure.

But we don’t know what goes on in another person’s heart.

The most modest clothing can stumble a brother if the brother is vulnerable to start with. We cannot assume that everyone is on the same level of spiritual maturity. So if ordinary clothes can stumble a brother, or cause the wearer to puff up, how much more a swim-suit, especially if a girl looks good in one?

My daughter is 7 and learning how to swim at the YMCA. Because of her allergies we don’t care for the chlorine as that can mess up her skin if she stays too long in it.  But we think being a strong swimmer is an essential life skill so she goes for lessons.  Oh, she LOVES the water.

But when she is a teen, I’m not sure if I want her to swim in a public or private pool with other boys, even when she wears the most covered-up swim-suit. And I’m not sure if I want my teen son to be exposed to scantily-clad girls at the pool either. Am I being unrealistic? Narrow-minded?

Oh, I don’t want my daughter to grow up judgmental or possessing a sense of affected modesty either. That can really be off-putting! I want to raise a godly daughter who loves the Lord, who cares about what she wears and how she looks primarily because her body is God’s temple and she wants to bring joy to her husband.

The issue is can a teenager (or any woman, for that matter!)  bring glory to God while swimming in a public pool?  It doesn't matter whether one is trim, overweight or what. The fact is that one is wearing  something one would not dream of wearing at a supermarket or in church.

What do other mothers of teenagers think? What has been your own experience? I’m really interested in other parents' input and the decisions they have made for their families. Thank you!

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Posted by julie

I have also struggled with these same questions....and I don't have an answer. We do go to public pools, we have one in our backyard where neighborhood kids (boys & girls) frequent, we require our 13 y.o. daughter to wear a one-piece -- as does our church youth group to youth functions....but I ponder these same questions as you do.....I guess I go with the culture on this one and do the best I can within the "swimsuit modesty" area. I lament with you...

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Posted by Endoftheroad

I ahve 4 older boys ( teen and 20's)... it has always been hard to protect them from the new clothing young girls wear... My husband always from an early age teaches them how to discipline a thought and where to place their eyes, what a freindly hug might be and what is appropriate...I appreciate moms who teach their daughters to respect their bodies and not go with the pop culture. It is very hard not to act judgemental at times... but my own son at one time mentioned after church how hard it was to concentrate when the girl in front of him had a short skirt on....

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