View Poll Results: Do you know how to swim?

Voters
61. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yes, learned as a child

    40 65.57%
  • Yes, learned as an adult

    1 1.64%
  • No, never had the opportunity

    3 4.92%
  • No, tried but failed

    10 16.39%
  • Never thought about it

    0 0%
  • Am afraid of water or other ... post below

    7 11.48%
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Thread: Drowning Tragedies

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Windham, Vermont, USA
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    40,828

    Drowning Tragedies

    Partly because of the 24-hour news cycle, we have heard of a whole lot of drownings this summer. I know we have discussed this before, but it boggles my mind that people can grow to adulthood without learning how to swim. We learned as children, it was just as much a part of growing up as learning how to read an analog clock, tie one's shoes and not touch a hot stove!

    Do you know how to swim? Have you had the opportunity to learn but didn't take it up for some reason? Would you take a class and learn how if you don't already know?

    Two incidents from today's news are 4 men drowning in a lake in Idaho, after one guy pushed another guy overboard as a joke, and didn't know he didn't know how to swim. Another is a teenager from NYC who drowned in an upstate NY motel pool, he didn't know how to swim, but ventured into the deep end ...
    I've Been Frosted

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Largo, FL
    Posts
    889
    I'm an other. I like water, but not too deep. I'm not a strong swimmer but I float like a cork! Love the Gulf of Mexico here in Clearwater because it's not very active water and you can really just enjoy a dip. I never swim in a lake because I panic a bit when I can't touch the bottom. I do love a day at the beach though!!

    When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    22,005
    Many of the drownings here are from simple things - like not wearing a life jacket!

    Some are just sad accidents - many from people getting pulled down a river by a strong current earlier in the year (wait til all the runoff stops!)

    And then there's the party/lots of booze/boat&water combo...almost a guarantee that someone will get, at the very least, hurt.
    "Do or do not. There is no try." -- Yoda

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio USA
    Posts
    11,467
    To me, learning to swim is one way to avoid a commonplace enough tragedy. J underwent swim lessons this summer. That does NOT mean he is out of the woods by any stretch. But, constant and repeated exposure to water helps eliminate the 'fear factor' that can lead to drowning. He knows to flip on his back if he gets tired, or feels unsure. He knows to swim towards the side immediately. He knows to tread water. Next summer, or maybe in the spring, I hope to enroll him in a class that practices actual strokes and builds his skills more.

    When we went to MI this summer, there was a rip tide (or whatever you call it in a lake) due to a significant storm over the lake. You could feel the pull. It caught him off guard ( I was right next to him). We talked about the feeling, how it is different than a pool, what to do (swim parallel to the shore as you slowly move in, etc). Did that make a difference? Nah. But, each exposure is something to learn from. There was another time where the 'wave' lifted him off of the bottom of the lake. I could see in his eyes he was frightened. He flipped on his back in two shakes of a cat's tail. That made me proud. He didn't panic, he went back to his instruction.

    Not knowing how to swim is a horrible place to be. I do not think I am strong enough to save another, unless it is a small child....so, each man is on his own.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio USA
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    11,467
    Quote Originally Posted by Catty1 View Post
    Many of the drownings here are from simple things - like not wearing a life jacket!

    Some are just sad accidents - many from people getting pulled down a river by a strong current earlier in the year (wait til all the runoff stops!)

    And then there's the party/lots of booze/boat&water combo...almost a guarantee that someone will get, at the very least, hurt.

    And, the simplest- not knowing how to swim/water safety.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    14,038
    I took swimming lessons three times. I failed miserably all three times. My siblings did great. I think I have a fear of water that hindered the process.

    Thank goodness both of my kids can swim with ease. I wouldn't have rested if they had gone to swimming events, pool parties, etc. without knowing how to swim.
    Now I have no desire to swim and I hope I never have to wish I had learned.


    I've been Boo'd...
    Thanks Barry!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Windham, Vermont, USA
    Posts
    40,828
    Quote Originally Posted by Daisy and Delilah View Post
    I took swimming lessons three times. I failed miserably all three times. My siblings did great. I think I have a fear of water that hindered the process.

    Thank goodness both of my kids can swim with ease. I wouldn't have rested if they had gone to swimming events, pool parties, etc. without knowing how to swim.
    Now I have no desire to swim and I hope I never have to wish I had learned.
    As long as you wear a life jacket if you are ever on a boat, you should be safe. Sorry you had that fear of water, but I am sure that serves to keep you from venturing into pools in any case.
    I've Been Frosted

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    8,585
    Growing up in Rhode Island, it was almost mandatory We were at the beach constantly in the summer - so I learned very early.

    My grandsons were taken to swim classes around the age of 2. One is now 20, the other 18 and they both have been lifeguards at the Y, and given swim lessons to others.

    Even if one swims well, when going out on a boat one should always have a life jacket - IMO.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    California
    Posts
    11,778
    Our house had a pool so I had to learn. I took lessons as a child and then became a fish each summer.

    While I know how to swim, when we go snorkeling I need a floatation device to hold me up while I look into the water. I panic putting my face in the water without being able to touch the bottom. I'm fine without my face in the water, I can tread water without a problem.
    Our goal in life should be - to be as good a person as our dog thinks we are.

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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Delaware, USA - The First State/Diamond State - home of The Blue Hens
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    9,321
    Yes - I swim. My father taught me first to float and then to swim in Narragansett Bay. He had a boat and had life preservers on board, but it was a must to be able to swim too. I can't say that I'm a strong swimmer, but I could more than likely save myself and even a child. Both my kids learned to swim early on, since we had a pool when they were growing up.
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
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    Deep-N-Heart of Tx && My Babie's Hearts
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    My dad always said I should have been born a fish.. I have always loved water & could swim.. As a adult I got my Life Guard Certs.. However that does not excuse me from using a Life Jacket in certain waters.. Its always better safe than sorry..

    ~~~Thank You Very Much {Kim} kimlovescats for the Grand Siggy~~~

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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
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    Swam like a fish since the age of five. Summers were spent at the cottage and if we wanted to be in the "big" lake we had to know how to swim or we had to swim in the boat pool. That was enough incentive for us to learn.My kids also learned to swim by that age. We spent hours out on the lake and no way was I taking chances with kids who didn't know how to fend in the water.
    Asiel

    I've been frosted--- thank you Cassie'smom

    I've been Boo'd----

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Kentucky, LAND OF THE EASILY AMUSED
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    25,224
    I read a book.

    I swear to george, that is how I learned.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICHARD View Post
    I read a book.

    I swear to george, that is how I learned.
    By reading a book?? So how and where did you practice the strokes? Might you have lived in the city of Atlantis ?
    Asiel

    I've been frosted--- thank you Cassie'smom

    I've been Boo'd----

  15. #15
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    Sep 2002
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    Quote Originally Posted by Asiel View Post
    By reading a book?? So how and where did you practice the strokes? Might you have lived in the city of Atlantis ?
    My brother was in the Boy Scouts and I was looking at the "learn to swim" section. We had a dam/swimming area up the street from the house and I practiced there.

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