I fail to understand your point. If they were too old for floaties, then they should have had on some sort of life vest......especially because it was known that they COULD NOT SWIM. I agree it is a tragic event. I find it hard to believe that you would have the same take if it was your kids in this situation, however. You would be looking for the reason this happened as well, and not just chalk it up to a tragic event.
Ummm.......it was a freaking river. They have currents.......and some places could be deeper than others. It is really naive to think that a river is going to be all the same depth. That being said, the answer to your question is YES. If they cannot swim then they need some sort of protection, whether it be floaties or life jackets. Maybe they were too cool to be wearing one, but this is what happens when you don't use your head.
I don't expect them to wear floaties every time they step into shallow water because I don't expect them to step into shallow water at all. You can't swim, so don't go in a ****ing river. It's not hard.
I've seen how bad some teachers are at teaching basics like reading. I damn sure don't want them trying to teach my kids to swim. I've taught my kids (and a number of my friends kids) to swim. I really enjoy the process. Any parent that doesn't teach their kid to swim and respect the water is neglecting their welfare in my opinion.
Growing up my neighborhood didn't have a pool and as far as I know no houses did either. The only time I ever got in a pool was for my school's Memorial Day picnic and I had sense enough to know to stay in the shallow end.
I took the lessons when I was around 13 or 14 for a week, not sure why but I just could never figure it out. Like I put in my earlier post, I wasn't around pools a lot growing up and even now I go to Schlitterbahn maybe once every two or three years, but I know where I can and can't go there so it's never been a huge priority for me to know how to swim.
And I'd venture to guess it's also not a huge priority of yours to **** around in a natural body of water. Some tragedies are caused by negligence and can be EASILY avoidable. This is one.
Also, floaties can be a little dangerous. They can slide down to the kid's wrists. I don't recommend them. Use a life jacket.
Why not we teach kids to read and write because those are skills that are needed in this society. A skill like swimming is something that can save theirs and others lives. We have PE already and I don't see why we couldn't add a swim requirement. This could be done in partnership with community pools.
Floaties aren't meant to be life saving or preserving devices. They are aids in teaching swimming. A lot of professionals don't even recommend them for that. Life jackets, as you mentioned, are much better.
Is is really that simple? Because I want to learn but water is one of my biggest fears hell I just start putting my heard under water.
And we have to pay for the instructors / lifeguards, transportation, insurance etc. That would just be a bigger mess than the government schools are already. Nightmare.
Swimming well or with form may take time, but just being able to swim takes time in a pool. Though a fear of water/drowning may make it difficult. There is also the possibility that I was naturally gifted at swimming.
I'd say it really depends on how comfortable one feels in the water, how quickly they adapt to the motions and processes of swimming, etc. Basically, it is different for everybody.
