Think or Swim

Compulsory swimming lessons for all Ontario Grade One students appears to be the latest political bandwagon to climb onto. Data from a study by the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows that drowning is the second leading cause of death for children under twelve. The drowning death of any child is very tragic. The results of near-drowning can be just as tragic when a life is altered by the complications of oxygen deprivation or lung infections.

But before we start building swimming pools and hiring swimming specialists to teach our Grade One children to swim, let’s keep this in perspective. The number one cause of death for children under five is car accidents. If 10 children died from drowning in a 12 month study (a very short time frame on which to base wholesale curriculum change) how many died in car accidents? And what are we doing to address that? The Grade Ones are too short to drive so teaching them that life skill has to be deferred.

And perhaps we should be addressing the swimming problem in the same way we ought to be addressing the leading cause of death for our children. Teach the parents. I expect that in almost every case of the under-fives drowning, the parent was not there at the moment that the child got into trouble. We have legislated child safety seats for automobiles and no doubt this has reduced, but not solved, the car accident death ratio for children.

We have legislated helmets for all children riding bicycles and this may have reduced the number of head injuries. Can we legislate the wearing water wings for all children under five who may be near water? Including bath tubs? Of course not. Can we legislate responsible parenting for all parents? That might be a good thought, but no, we won’t go that far yet because too many of us would need some remedial attention.

That a larger proportion of these deaths came in northern Ontario may come as a surprise but considering the number of lakes, ponds, rivers and creeks we have in the north and the number of city folk who are not familiar with them who come to our area, and you will see that the statistics could be sound. Ought we to post signs telling parents not to let their children in the water unless they can swim or are supervised? The fact that 76% of these child drowning incidents did not happen while the child was swimming says to me that it was not swimming lessons that were needed, but some guidance about the risks involved when around bodies of water. It would seem to be common sense that you would not put a toddler into a situation that can harm them. And yet all it takes is a moment of inattention to fill a lifetime with regret.

Learning to swim should be one of those rights of passage for all children and indeed I remember dog-paddling across the South River as one of the childhood tests that we all passed in our village. The biggest fear we had was of the leeches, not of drowning, and all things in perspective, I still don’t like leeches.

Yes, I fell out of trees, crashed my bicycle any number of times and rode around in the back of a pick-up truck long before there were seat belts. But I understood that falling was a risk, and riding a bicycle meant scrapes and bruises. I knew that I had been told not to stand up in the truck because I could fall out and if I needed a smack on the bum as a reminder, I would get that too. I also new damn well that if I didn’t make it across the South River, there was nobody there to rescue me. We learned that there were consequences to our actions.

The problem is that little kids under five do not know too much about consequences when they venture into the water. They see Sponge Bob and his friends living an exciting life under water and because mom or dad or nanny never explained that this was not the real world, the little kids have no fear of the water world.

Swimming lessons for those over five is a good idea, but surely we do not have to legislate that into our teaching curriculum. Maybe if we took the time to teach the little joys in life like climbing a tree or dog-paddling and riding a bike we could be like real parents. And if you don’t have the time or skills for these basics, maybe the parents-to-be should go back to school or re-think what they are getting into. Parenting is up close and personal – it is not the responsibility of the state or school. We ought to be going to school to learn to think, not swim.