Can You Swim?
 

A fourteen year old boy drowned in a lake when he fell off a make-shift raft. He was unable to swim but went out with his friends anyway.

So, I was wondering about two things.

1) Can you swim?
2) How is it that people drown because they can't swim? Meaning, it doesn't seem too terribly difficult to at least tread water - plus, we're born able to swim.

My thoughts
 

1) Yes
2) The only explanation I have is that people who "think" they can't swim get frantic and wear themselves out.

Yes

Yes. My sister and I took lessons at a young age.

Yes, but I don't like to. My mother forced me into lessons when I was about two. I fell into a pool when I was just learning how to talk, and it scared her to death.

1. No

2. People who can't swim drown (and sometimes take those people that try to rescue them along) because panic sets in. When you're sinking and swallowing in water, being calm and rational enough to think about teaching yourself how to swim isn't as easy as it sounds at that moment.

1) Yep been swimming since I was about 1 or so - my mother took me to one of those Mother & Baby swimming things... I've seen the movies of it - it's pretty freaky how little kids just automatically start to kick and such to swim.

2) Panic is the number one cause of drowning, followed by water conditions, followed by physical imparements (ie. drunk)... at least up here. When a person panics they act irrationally and expend enormous amounts of energy without accomplishing much: flailing around, getting up and down confused underwater, dragging rescuers under, hyperventalating, etc.... - further they are more likely to ingest water because of the thrashing

1) Yes. I have been swimming since I was very young and I am very good at it. At one point I was intent on becoming a lifeguard and an instructor. I let those lessons lapse, but I am still a great swimmer.

2) RACooper is right.

I am the first person in my family to learn to swim. One of my cousins drown in a fishing accident in a lake that he had fished all of his life. No one in my family will go anywhere near water.

I did not learn to swim until I was in my LATE 20's. I fell in a friend's pool, and she immediately signed me up for swimming lessons. I started off in the most basic water adjustment class in Red Cross swimming lessons. Three years later, I earned my certification as a Water Safety Instructor. Now I teach others to swim in free lessons. I am proof that older persons can learn to swim.

I am very proud to be able to swim. I am proud to be able to help others.

Silver

I can't swim/tread water. But I have learned how to float on my back. I figure that may be helpful until I learn how to swim properly.

Yep I swim.

Re: Can You Swim?
 

1) Yup. I think the life guard certification lapsed though.

2) It's really easy and even easier to drown if the water is rough and there are currents.

-Rudey

I've been swimming since I was born. We live right down the street from our swin & tennis club, so we spent every day in the summers there. I know there are people who can't swim, but it still kinda baffles me since I grew up doing it.

Yes I know how to swim. I have been swimming since I was about 5-- no formal lessons it just came naturally to me.

I am shocked at the number of people who don't know how to swim. Last week while I was at the gym, I was swimming laps and there were swimming lessons going on--the number of kids ages 14 or 15 who didn't have basic water skills surprised me.

Back when Money Was Precious, I could not swim a lick.

My Mom Said I would learn to swim and told Dad So! Guess who won!:)

Took me to the YMCA via Bus and never did learn to swim a lick.:(

Fast forward a bit: Boy Scout Camp. Had to learn how to swim to get Safety Merit Badge.

Guys made fun of me and I Broke My Toenail and was on crutches. Still fun made of the gimp and the crip. :mad:

Screw Them, I passed the Senior Life Saving Requiremts.

Swam on the High School Swim Team. Tall guys always won! Longer than I was.!:rolleyes: I was 5" 4', Terry was 6' 2".

But what people dont realize, Float, Float. That is the way to consearve energy. Lay back and take gulps of air, lay Your Head back and relax!

If wearing Long Pants, strip them off, Tie the legs in a knot.m Throw them oin the air and gather it.

Why, makes a hell of a float.:)

Water is a relaxing sensation.


PM_Mama00.

just let the water flow and relax!

Of course winnieb, grew up on a farm and had no where else to take a bathe!

Her and The Moo Moos!
:D

Yes, I can swim. I didn't learn how to swim until I was 12, although several people tried to teach me. I just couldn't coordinate my arms, legs, and breathing, and a few experiences inhaling water put me off trying. Then, one summer, I decided I was learning to swim - and I did it.

I agree with RACooper. People drown because they panic, or because weather conditions keep them from safety, or because there is some physical reason that they cannot swim. That can happen whether you know how to swim or not.

I learned to swim when I was about 4 or so.

I can swin, although not very well. Like PM_Mama, I prefer it when my feet can touch the ground.

1. Yes I can swim. I also spent many summers (and winters in college) as a lifegaurd, where they taught us

2. People drown because they panic, and they start flailing and trying to grab onto something, which puts you in an upright position. When you swim, you need to be almost parallel with the water and even when you tread water you're making foward progress. The drowing person can't get the thrusting movement it takes to support themself in the water.

eta: I learned to swim waaaaaaay back in the day. My mom taught those Mommy and Me swimming classes where the kids learn how to do tricks like swim under mom's legs and hoopes and stuff. She freaked out my grandma (who can't swim) by throwing me in the pool one day.

See now, that makes sense to me. At least you can handle yourself in the water.

As far as people drowning in adverse circumstances - drinking, currents, disability, etc. - I understand that. But, it's the people that drown in pools and calm lakes that I feel so bad about.

BTW - Have y'all seen Open Water? :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

1) yes, since I was 3 or so. We had a pool in the backyard, it was a necessity. I was a lifeguard in high school.

2) as many others have stated panic and fear.

1). Yes. Our old house was on the water, so it would have been stupid for me not to know.

2). Like everyone's saying, panic.

Yes.
Many kids in Florida are taught how to swim at a very young age. I was 2 when I went to swimming lessons. With all the water in Florida (pools, canals, ocean), kids are taught to swim for safety reasons.

I can't swim.

Yes, I can swim, but not very well. One of these days I'm going to sign up for some lessons at the Y or something. I'm a fan of the areas of the pool where I can either touch the ground or can almost touch the ground.

I've known how to swim since I was around 3-4ish, wasn't any good, but I knew how :D

However, I don't feel comfortable w/swimming in an area where I can't see the bottom. That comes from one getting her feet caught in seaweed too many times....

I didn't know there were people who didn't know how to swim! I've never met anyone who can't.. so this is enlightening. What do y'all who can't swim do in the summertime? I was a swim/dive team member when I was younger at the country club but as I've gotten older I've developed a phobia of pool bottoms. So I either get in verrrry slowly, making sure there's nothing on the bottom at all, or stay in the deep end where I can't touch. I can't even stand to touch the bottom of my own pool.. I'm so weird

I heard that story on the news. They found the boy's body. I think that he probably panicked because he didn't know how to swim. I am not sure about the conditions of the water in that area so I don't know if that was a factor or not.

I know a healthy, young man who drowned because he was caught in the rip tide and didn't know what to do. I think that panic was a factor as well.

1. Yes I can swim. Thank you CYO.

2. I think panic, water conditions, and inexperience are the main factors in drowning.

1) Yes I can swim.... I taught myself how to swim under water and then I had about 2 lessons on how to swim on top of water and then I had a "private" tutor b/c I was more advanced than the others after those two days of learning how to swin on top.

2) I almost drowned as a kid, I was floating in a tube, I got out and thought I could float without the tube....needless to say I was wrong :rolleyes: I remember it like it was yesterday, my dad jumped into the pool to save me.

My dad and both my sisters know how to swim, my mother doesn't.

At one point in my life (very briefly) I was considered a very promising competetive swimmer...long story short, I really didn't want to deal with my hair.

Okay, here's the story of how my ability to swim saved my life...

One of my husband's coworkers has a son who owns a catamaran (sp?). A couple of summers ago, coworker and son offered to take us both out on the water. Coworker's wife wisely stayed on dry land.

So we went out a ways, and returned... it was fun. Coworker and son were trying to steer the boat back toward the dock... when it flipped over and all four of us were suddenly in the water. It was about 20 minutes before a yacht happened by and we were rescued.

Did I mention, no life jackets... If I were unable to swim I'd be dead right now. Then again, if I were unable to swim I wouldn't have gone out there in the first place.

Since we've established that panic is the main reason why people who can't swim drown...

I can swim, have been doing so since I was about 4 years old. I was a lifeguard throughout high school, so I didn't even have to take the mandatory swimming classes - my high school will not graduate anyone who cannot swim! I also taught swimming lessons for three years.

Where my parents live, people--usually tourists--drown every year because they don't know what to do when they're caught in riptide. There are very, very few natives who drown in our part of the Gulf.

What do you do when you get caught?

Aren't you supposed to swim parallel to the shore until you get out of it or until you hit a sandbar before actually swimming to shore? Forgive me if I'm wrong, KY isn't know for our oceans :p

Yes. Also, don't fight it. You most likely won't win against a rip current. You'll spend all your energy trying to fight the current that will inevitably bring you out to sea. Once the current is done, people who fight the current will be so exhausted that they're unable to tread water until help comes and they ultimately drown.

Yes, I know how to swim.

Yep. Swam competitively (about 5 hours a day!) on two teams in high school. Was supposed to swim in college but a shoulder injury killed that dream.

I also worked in pool management - I'm a head lifeguard at my college rec center and I worked as a swim lessons coordinator at a YMCA. I'm a Red Cross lifeguard instructor as well.

As so many people have said, the main cause of drowning is panic. I've been teaching swimming lessons for about 6 years, and far and away the best advice I can give is for parents to give their children lessons as young as possible. It's easier for young kids to learn and it teaches long-term drowning prevention.

Swim all the time.

I do have to say, that after being in the army and going through drown proofing....some stereotypes do seem to be awfully true.

1) Can you swim?
2) How is it that people drown because they can't swim? Meaning, it doesn't seem too terribly difficult to at least tread water - plus, we're born able to swim.

1) Yes I can. I am a triathlete, competitive swimmer, and a lifeguard and swim instructor.

2) Drowning often DOESNT happen because people *can't* swim. Drowning happens usually because a swimmer overestimates his/her ability, over/under estimates the depth of the water, enters in an inproper fashion (i.e. headfirst in water where you can't see the bottom), or has been consuming alcohol. Most drownings or aquatic emergencies happen in water UNDER 10 ft. deep. Most children who are learning to swim will bob till they can stand on their tippy toes, and due to drifting..they will go slightly out of their reach, go under, and panic. They forget how to swim and resort to the "instinct" of pushing their arms up and down to get their head out of the water at any costs (that's why on TV people who are drowning don't just slip under the water).

I agree that teaching children PROPER swimming technique as early as possible is KEY to getting them to be profficient swimmers. The importance of getting kids to PUT THEIR FACE IN THE WATER!! Cannot be stressed enough. Head in the water= proper body position and improved floatation! Head out of the water means that the hips/legs/bum is pointed at the bottom of the pool, acting like a sandbag and making swimming exhausting.

Also, knowing how to swim as a parent should be important too, not only so you set a good example, but in case your child is ever in an emergency.