Are Swimming Lessons Enough?

[Dave Cutler]

Boy, 6, in critical condition after near-drowning at Daytona Beach ...

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-04-01/news/os-child-nearly...

A 6-year-old child nearly drowned at the Hilton Hotel in Daytona Beach this morning, according to Daytona Beach Fire Department.

Note that the victim in the needless tragedy had had two years of swimming lessons. This underscores the common misperception that learning how to swim alone prevents drowning. Of course lessons and public education help a great deal, but sadly even athletic, talented swimmers drown.

It is supervision- diligent responsible supervision- that prevents drowning. And even diligent responsible supervision still requires additional layers of protection such as fences, gates, pool alarms and drowning detection technology to insure that no life is needlessly lost to a preventable drowning.

[Dewey Case]

It's all of the above...learning to swim, supervision, and layers of protection.    We also have to get our collective selves out of our current M.O.  Aquatic facilities either:

 

1)  don't have (or don't desire to have) outreach programs to high risk populations

 

2)  teach a loose version of "swimming" that nearly ignores proper form and true swimming ability- which are key in learning to swim.  It does happen, but we hear of much fewer cases where the victim was even moderately proficient in at least two strokes over a distance

 

3)  teach swimming technique, but little in the way of aquatic safety

 

4)  may do the above, but don't address the supervision aspect and layers of protection with adults

 

This is a broad brush, and there are certainly many facilities that do all four very well.  Of course funding & staffing are critical developing successful strategies to these.  Funding and staffing that is in short supply these last few years. 

 

[Jim Wheeler]

Where were the parents? How sad this is.

[Dave Cutler]

Jim, these types of events are occurring at alarming rates, all the time. Please visit http://www.wahooosms.com/News/CategoryView.asp?CategoryID=5 to see what I mean...