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Parenting
stacynikki
member
Liam is 5!
Can you swim?
stacynikki
member
in Parenting
My parents had us in swim lessons since we were babies so I can't even fathom the idea of anyone not being able to swim since I don't really ever remember not being able to. Obviously many people don't know how to swim but I guess I don't understand how it wouldn't just be something instinctual? Isn't at least doggy paddling something everyone can do? I'm not being facetious at all. Just really curious to hear from a nonswimmer's perspective.
I was reading this article and thought it was really sad.
https://www.statesman.com/opinion/drownings-are-tragic-but-preventable-845978.html
Liam is 5!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Can you swim?
I can swim, we are teaching the kids, but they also need swimming lessons.
This being said, my mom cannot swim, she will not go near the water. She is deathly afraid of water.
Yep, took lessons at the Y when I was little, had to swim in middle and highschool gym, had to pass some water safety (treading water for 10 or 15min, etc) to pass gym. Took more for fun in college for my gym credits.
Everyone in my family took at least the basics.
Most of DH's family cannot. His dad, grandpa, 2 aunts, an uncle.. His dad regrets it b/c he doesn't feel safe enough to be on a boat, misses out on fun w/the kids, etc. Lots of people who can't swim panic when in the water, so instead of doing any kind of floating (which has to be learned) or paddling, they flail and sputter around and get disoriented more easily.
I have a fear of water. I can swim enough to get by and/or survive, but it isn't something I seek to do in my spare time. (Taking my DD to the pool is different...we stay in the shallow end).
ETA: I took swimming lessons as a kid, so I have the knowledge, but I don't practice very often.
Nope, neither can my brother or sister. We grew up in the city, and the public pools were dirty. My parents were immigrants, didn't have the $$ for private lessons, and didn't make it a priority.
Having access to a swimming pool is a luxury that MANY people can't afford. I can''t believe that so many posters are SHOCKED that people never learned to swim. Sounds very priviledged, honestly.
That being said, I wish I could swim, and I am making it a priority for my girls.
Yes I can, quite well. I remember taking lessons when I was quite young and my mom really enjoyed swimming. I also took swimming in high school, but I can't remember if it was required to graduate or not. I even took swimming in college for credit.
Ethan did swim lessons last summer and again this summer. Every time he would ask why he was doing it, I said to make sure he was safe in the water. My husband isn't the greatest swimmer, but I want our kids to be strong swimmers so I don't have worry as much about them. We have a public pool across the street from us and are there all the time in the summer.
The only reason I'm surprised that ppl can't swim is because we HAD to learn in school. That was, normally speaking, my only pool access. But in Michigan there are so many lakes that are free or under $5 for parking... it's normal around here for people to be around or in a lake half the summer. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Michigan is just weird that way ;-)
Yup. I started lessons when I was 4 and my brother started at 3. We're a water family. Grew up spending almost every afternoon at the town pool during the summers. (Mom's a teacher so she was off and loved water.) A few weekends during the summer, we'd drive down to the shore and we spent a week at the beach (Outer Banks, NC) every summer from when I was probably 6 or 7 on. My parents now live in FL about 2 miles from the beach with a pool and we will have a pool as soon as we move into our new house. Needless to say, my kids will learn to swim and learn young.
FWIW - DD#1 can swim really well - as well as her friend who's had a pool in her backyard all her life. We started her in lessons last year. They cost a fortune at our swim place but the program is amazing! The kids learn a ton and it's very safety-first focused if that makes sense. DD#2 is starting to learn. We had her in private lessons for about a month. We'll start those back up at our own pool if we can when we move in and we'll put both girls back in lessons in January to get them ready for the summer for sure.
For me, swimming is a safety thing. I don't care if they hate the water or love it (though all three of mine seem to love it). They must learn how to swim enough that if they fall in or jump in or whatever, they can get to the side and/or yell for help.
I love to swim and swam on a team as a kid. Now we have almost no access to swimming (live in a major city so there aren't really pools here, which sucks! It's completely ruined the past three summers for me since the only thing I find tolerable about summer is swimming), so we haven't had access to lessons for my older daughter yet. My sister's FI was a swim instructor and lifeguard for years (and a division 1 college swimmer) so every chance we get he works on swim safety and getting to the side with my girls. Next summer we're hoping to find a pool to join or some other way for him to give the older one weekly lessons.
My DH had swim lessons growing up, but neither of his older sisters did and neither can do more than save themselves in the water. I don't think it's that unheard of, although everyone I knew growing up learned to swim even if they didn't have regular access to a pool.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
Yes I grew up with a pool and started swim team at 6. Both my kids can swim, they have both been in lessons since they were 4 months old. DD will start swim team next year at 4, and hopefully DS will be ready by then too. My parents live on a lake and have a pool, so it was a safety issue for me. I also want to have a pool one day and would not if DH, the kids and i could not swim,
I think maybe it is a regional thing, but swimming around here is not a "rich people" thing. We live in a large city and have 8 public pools which are free if you live in the city limits. Also 95% of our neighborhoods and apartment complexes have pools. Swimming is also taught in highschool.