Chlorine levels are based on CYA levels and unless I missed it, I don't think you posted one. Since we don't know your CYA level at this point, I think if it were my pool that I would only take the chlorine level up to 10-12ppm. At that level, it should not hurt your pool in any way. Chlorine levels drop down on their own over time. How quickly depends on how much CYA you have, what the weather is like and what your water conditions are. It won't hurt the kids to swim at that chlorine level but you might want to have them wear old swimsuits. Take a minute if you haven't already done so, and read the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in either mine or Carl's signature above. It will better explain the connection between chlorine and CYA.

If you can pick up an HTH 6-Way drops test kit at Walmart, you'll be able to test your CYA level.