Yes, but I think the article tells us the fact is most of the time they aren't going to be able to grab for it if they are drowning.
Wow what kind of rocket fan are you? WHat happened to taking one for the team? It's our star center man! :grin: I do agree with your point though.
Also, I think the OP's initial post has lead people in the wrong way as if 1 person fell in and then one jumped in and then another and then another and so on. Reading the article, it looks like one toppled into the hole grabbed one or more and they all eventually grabbed each other but were toppled by the sinkhole. Plus, sinkholes can just appear out of nowhere (remember the one in Central America a month or so ago) so it's possible they triggered it by playing on a weak riverbed too.
This is not remotely funny. It's actually very depressing. Kids need to get away from the tv/pc and become active. It's just mind-boggling that none of them could freakin swim.
a stranger who doesn't want to put his life and serious risk to save my kid's life? i'd understand. there are millions of people around the world right now who are dying and whose lives are in peril who can be helped. since you guys are such heroes, why aren't you doing whatever you can to help them? just because they aren't right in front of you in your sight line? get off your soapboxes.
In my opinion, kids not learning to swim is an issue with the parenting. I was brought up in an environment where parents took their kids to the pool to take swim lessons. It was imprinted in my brain that, when kids reach a certain age, one of the first things parents do is get their kid involved in swimming lessons. As is implied, every kid should learn how to swim. I couldn't even fathom raising a kid and not doing the pool/swim lessons thing. Kids are supposed to grow up swimming. It's part of being a kid. I feel sorry for kids who grow up without learning how to swim. That is a missed part of childhood that shouldn't be missed. I guess money issues and/or poverty could play a role in not getting them swimming lessons. Growing into your teens and never having swam in a pool? That sucks! But, not everyone is privileged enough to have access to a pool...especially with all these cities cutting back their budgets and closing public pools left and right.
Yeah I actually first heard about it from someone else verbally, and that's how it was explained to me. I didn't really intend to come across as sounding so crass about the whole thing, but the whole idea of the kids jumping in one after the other to try and succeed where the others had failed just seemed so surreal - macabre humor I guess. After reading the article, though, it seems like that wasn't the case. I don't really know who the bad guy is in all this. I really don't think you can blame anyone, it was just a tragic, wrong place wrong time situation.
This is just horrible, drowning at that age, terrible, and for the parents to be unable to help.....so sad. Swimming lessons should be taught in public schools, dang it. DD
So what you are telling me is that you would use common sense, and not be playing around in a river that you have no business in because you would not be able to protect yourself? Seems sensible...... No offense, but I do not understand how you took lessons and still cannot swim. Did you get discouraged and quit? I mean some people have a fear of water/drowning, which is fine. Perhaps a large part of those unable to swim just cannot get over that fear. I see countless amounts of children swimming every summer.......if a child can do it, there is no reason an adult can not unless they have just made up their mind that they can't do it. But it is not a difficult concept.......kick your feet, cup your hands, and paddle. Learning to ride a bike is much more difficult than learning to swim. My whole problem with this story is that the adult knew that these children could not swim, yet let them mess around in the water. If it is really something they want to do, make them put on floaties and keep a close eye on them. That just comes with being a responsible adult/guardian, which this person obviously was not.
Very sad. But how can you not know how to swim??? IMO it's basic common sense! Swimming should come as naturally as breathing!
kids were 13-18. Not toddlers. Why can't this just be a tragic event with a warning about the dangers of water without it being a blatant failing of the parents, kids, or school system?
It was shallow water. There was a sink hole that nobody knew about. Do you really expect teenagers to be wearing floaties every time they step into shallow water just in case there may be a sink hole?
It's tough to diagnose the situation because none of us were there. There are beaches where the water is 2-3 ft deep for 50 yards and maybe 5 ft deep 100 yards from the shore. So I think there are cases where it's not crazy to let non-swimmers wade around. Of course, like everything else, you still need to be cautious. In any case, I also agree swimming should be a basic skill everyone has.
how many elementary/intermediate schools have pools? Thats where the demand would be. Some High schools have pools but most people either can swim by then or don't want to learn by that point
