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I have two toddlers and I've signed (or plan to sign) them up for two things: swim lessons & tumbling. * I don't care/want them to be Olympic swimmers but if

I have two toddlers and I've signed (or plan to sign) them up for two things: swim lessons & tumbling. * I don't care/want them to be Olympic swimmers but if they fall in a pool or river, I want them to be able to tread water and get out without panicking. * Despite everything I say and do, they're going to get on the roof. I know, I did. ;) So when they fall, I want them to fall the best way possible. As a parent, I don't see my job to protect them from all consequences but to prevent and/or prepare them for the worst.

maxxxxx 8y ago
That seems reasonable.
toomanybeersies 8y ago
I'm from New Zealand, and I'm shocked at how bad some people are at swimming. I'd understand somebody in Kansas or the middle of Australia being bad at swimming, but New Zealand is an island nation, 75% of the population lives within 10 km (6 miles) of the sea. A significant proportion of people couldn't swim 250 m or tread water for 10 minutes.
- bane 8y ago
  The first time I went to the Caribbean, I was utterly flummoxed to find out many of the locals couldn't swim at all. I've known people who volunteered to go to various islands to teach basic swimming skills who also haven't been able to quite figure out why either. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2017/0824/Most-Grenadians-don-t-know-how-to-swim.-But-one-woman-is-changing-that https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2017/082... https://alexischateau.com/2016/11/08/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-jamaica/ https://alexischateau.com/2016/11/08/10-things-you-probably-...
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    I have a friend who worked as a diving instructor on the Gili Islands in Indonesia for a few months. He said that a lot of the local guys who would drive the boats couldn't swim, they also obviously didn't wear life jackets. It just seems bizarre to me.
- Freak_NL 8y ago
  I'm always surprised to learn that learning to swim isn't the norm in other developed countries. Unfortunately, ill-advised budget cuts mean that even here in the Netherlands (a country with a lot of surface water) swimming is no longer a standard part of the school curriculum in some municipalities (it used to be pretty much mandatory).
- seszett 8y ago
  Well, I'm always surprised at how people seem to assume that just living by the sea should somehow make people learn to swim? I probably went to the sea (the Atlantic, in France) and played in water every other day or so during summer and autumn for most of my life until I had to move away as an adult, but that didn't magically teach my how to swim. I had to learn later. And I still hate swimming.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    I don't think that living next to the sea would make you magically learn how to swim, but rather that everybody should be taught to swim to a competent level. If you live next to the sea, you're going to be spending time around and on the water. It follows that you should learn how to survive in the water if something goes wrong. What if you get caught in a rip, or if someone else gets in trouble in the water and you have to help them? What if you're in a dingy and it capsizes?
- cardiffspaceman 8y ago
  The college I went to required students to demonstrate the ability to tread water for 5 minutes and do a few lengths of the pool (form didn't count). They strongly urged a remedial class in swimming for those who failed this test in freshman year.
  - brg 8y ago
    Tsinghua?
brooksyd2 8y ago
Genuine question, is swimming not already taught in schools where you are? In the UK we take swimming lessons at primary school age, and usually this entails passing a Watership certification, which includes treading water for a minute with your clothes on etc.
scandinavegan 8y ago
Both my kids have been sure that they know how to swim when too young to have even tried. We signed them up for swimming lessons to make them respect water a bit more, and of course learn how to swim. They don't need to figure out that they can't swim when they're unsupervised, as that's a bit too dangerous. My oldest started in a school that used very traditional methods (first learn legs then add arms, start by dry swimming on land and move to water, and so on), and she took the course over and over without progressing. For unrelated reasons, we switched schools, and the new school focused on just spending time in water, running in shallow water, floating, dipping your head under water as part of games, and so on. They had something they called "playing dolphins" where they would stand in waist-deep water, jump forward, and glide as far as they could before standing up again. She only needed one round of that course before she could advance to swimming for real. I suggest spending time just getting them used to water, getting splashed in the face, or playing with floating or sinking toys in waist-deep water, to quickly get over any blocking fear of water. I liked how the new school didn't even attempt to introduce real strokes at the beginner level, but instead gave the kids confidence in their own abilities to move in water.
- bane 8y ago
  That echoes my own upbringing. When I was very young, 4 or 5, my parents tried to get me to learn to swim using traditional methods and utterly failed and left me slightly terrified of water. The summer when I was 5, my brother (an excellent competitive swimmer in his youth) brought me to a pool and we played a game called "jump and I'll try to catch you" and in the course of a couple hours of him moving to deeper and deeper water and farther away from the edge I basically figured out how to doggy paddle to him. By the end of that summer my brother had me fetching coins from the bottom of a 3 meter pool from a steady tread. Only then did he start to teach me any formal strokes, but to be honest, because of how he taught me, I think of swimming as a perfectly natural activity like walking, where I decide where to go and at what depth and my body simply figures out how to get there. Specific strokes and techniques don't really play much part. To this day, I love swimming.
  - scandinavegan 8y ago
gtlondon 8y ago
It's amazing how quickly young children can learn to swim. My daughter went from disliking the water to swimming 200m with perfect technique within a couple years. Learning to tumble made me laugh, but is a good idea :)
- overcast 8y ago
  Learning to fall is a hugely beneficial asset. It's how skateboarders are able to get up, over and over. First thing you learn is how to fall properly, without seriously injuring yourself. It will happen, but being able to roll away, or bail correctly is essential.

maxxxxx 8y ago

That seems reasonable.

toomanybeersies 8y ago

I'm from New Zealand, and I'm shocked at how bad some people are at swimming. I'd understand somebody in Kansas or the middle of Australia being bad at swimming, but New Zealand is an island nation, 75% of the population lives within 10 km (6 miles) of the sea. A significant proportion of people couldn't swim 250 m or tread water for 10 minutes.

bane 8y ago
The first time I went to the Caribbean, I was utterly flummoxed to find out many of the locals couldn't swim at all. I've known people who volunteered to go to various islands to teach basic swimming skills who also haven't been able to quite figure out why either. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2017/0824/Most-Grenadians-don-t-know-how-to-swim.-But-one-woman-is-changing-that https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2017/082... https://alexischateau.com/2016/11/08/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-jamaica/ https://alexischateau.com/2016/11/08/10-things-you-probably-...
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  I have a friend who worked as a diving instructor on the Gili Islands in Indonesia for a few months. He said that a lot of the local guys who would drive the boats couldn't swim, they also obviously didn't wear life jackets. It just seems bizarre to me.
Freak_NL 8y ago
I'm always surprised to learn that learning to swim isn't the norm in other developed countries. Unfortunately, ill-advised budget cuts mean that even here in the Netherlands (a country with a lot of surface water) swimming is no longer a standard part of the school curriculum in some municipalities (it used to be pretty much mandatory).
seszett 8y ago
Well, I'm always surprised at how people seem to assume that just living by the sea should somehow make people learn to swim? I probably went to the sea (the Atlantic, in France) and played in water every other day or so during summer and autumn for most of my life until I had to move away as an adult, but that didn't magically teach my how to swim. I had to learn later. And I still hate swimming.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  I don't think that living next to the sea would make you magically learn how to swim, but rather that everybody should be taught to swim to a competent level. If you live next to the sea, you're going to be spending time around and on the water. It follows that you should learn how to survive in the water if something goes wrong. What if you get caught in a rip, or if someone else gets in trouble in the water and you have to help them? What if you're in a dingy and it capsizes?
cardiffspaceman 8y ago
The college I went to required students to demonstrate the ability to tread water for 5 minutes and do a few lengths of the pool (form didn't count). They strongly urged a remedial class in swimming for those who failed this test in freshman year.
- brg 8y ago
  Tsinghua?

brooksyd2 8y ago

Genuine question, is swimming not already taught in schools where you are? In the UK we take swimming lessons at primary school age, and usually this entails passing a Watership certification, which includes treading water for a minute with your clothes on etc.

scandinavegan 8y ago

Both my kids have been sure that they know how to swim when too young to have even tried. We signed them up for swimming lessons to make them respect water a bit more, and of course learn how to swim. They don't need to figure out that they can't swim when they're unsupervised, as that's a bit too dangerous. My oldest started in a school that used very traditional methods (first learn legs then add arms, start by dry swimming on land and move to water, and so on), and she took the course over and over without progressing. For unrelated reasons, we switched schools, and the new school focused on just spending time in water, running in shallow water, floating, dipping your head under water as part of games, and so on. They had something they called "playing dolphins" where they would stand in waist-deep water, jump forward, and glide as far as they could before standing up again. She only needed one round of that course before she could advance to swimming for real. I suggest spending time just getting them used to water, getting splashed in the face, or playing with floating or sinking toys in waist-deep water, to quickly get over any blocking fear of water. I liked how the new school didn't even attempt to introduce real strokes at the beginner level, but instead gave the kids confidence in their own abilities to move in water.

bane 8y ago
That echoes my own upbringing. When I was very young, 4 or 5, my parents tried to get me to learn to swim using traditional methods and utterly failed and left me slightly terrified of water. The summer when I was 5, my brother (an excellent competitive swimmer in his youth) brought me to a pool and we played a game called "jump and I'll try to catch you" and in the course of a couple hours of him moving to deeper and deeper water and farther away from the edge I basically figured out how to doggy paddle to him. By the end of that summer my brother had me fetching coins from the bottom of a 3 meter pool from a steady tread. Only then did he start to teach me any formal strokes, but to be honest, because of how he taught me, I think of swimming as a perfectly natural activity like walking, where I decide where to go and at what depth and my body simply figures out how to get there. Specific strokes and techniques don't really play much part. To this day, I love swimming.
- scandinavegan 8y ago

gtlondon 8y ago

It's amazing how quickly young children can learn to swim. My daughter went from disliking the water to swimming 200m with perfect technique within a couple years. Learning to tumble made me laugh, but is a good idea :)

overcast 8y ago
Learning to fall is a hugely beneficial asset. It's how skateboarders are able to get up, over and over. First thing you learn is how to fall properly, without seriously injuring yourself. It will happen, but being able to roll away, or bail correctly is essential.