A few foolish parents ruin summer fun for everyone. Lots of kids does not automatically equal good parenting. Babies in diapers do not belong in a swimming pool!

Want to clean up the pools? Get the personal injury lawyers involved in a few class action lawsuits against swimming pool owners. The pool operators will suddenly vigorously enforce the no baby rule, despite the whining of the lazy mothers with babies in diapers.

Ummmm Bob, you do know that there's such a thing as swim diapers, right? They form a good seal and are waterproof on the outside so that nothing (liquid or solid) escapes.

Frankly I'm more concerned about getting sick because adults like you haven't thoroughly wiped themselves than I am getting sick because of a baby in a swim diaper.

Babies, swim diapers, not showering before hitting the pool... these have all been around for many, many years. Why the concern now?

I know the outbreak of last year sent a shock wave through the community, but what changed last year to cause the outbreak? In my mind, there had to be some other factors at play, because the so-called causes of this crypto outbreak have been around for years!

I can't believe that people get paid to write stuff like this...

I ought to get paid to read it!

but I have three things for you to consider:
1. If you want a waterproof diaper that will really keep everything in/out, it will have a time limit of 2 or 3 minutes before it must be removed to return circulation to the legs and pelvic area. If the diaper isn't that tight, somethings getting out.
2. This is only now a concern because of a wonderful thing call natural selection or evolution. We use chemicals to treat water, disease causing protozoan cysts that are resistant to chemical treatment develop. Crypto is relatively large for a pathogen and is easily filtered by virtually all water filters used in the back-country.
3. Most mammals and birds can and do carry crypto, so you may as wellhead for the indoor pools if you are worried.

I enjoyed your column thoroughly and laughed all the way to the end, not because I didn't believe it but because I identify with so many of your feelings right down to the end of "kicking open the(bathroom) door and racing through the gap after you have used the public restroom". Yes the disease has been around, however, I feel that mother's are becoming more lax and I personally have seen fecal matter on the dressing room floor when no one is around. It is not worth the risk anymore. Don't we protect ourselves by locking our doors at night. Shouldn't we also protect ourselves from disease that we know is luking? I do agree that a few people do ruin it for the majority but that is how life is.

The motto used to be: "I don't swim in your toilet, please don't pee in my pool."

Now it's: "Can I swim in your pool? Someone's made mine into a toilet."

The main thing that was left out of this article was that this is a water born problem and not just a pool problem. Crypto has been traced back to all recreational bodies of water such as: lakes, rivers, springs, ponds or streams and yes public pools. People make it sound like it is just because of infants, please make no mistake that they are not the only ones adding to the problem.