Is it necessary to teach your child how to swim?

>>18175574
Yes.

>>18175574
Yeah and you should too if you don't know.

>>18175576
>>18175584
I have a friend saying it's a waste of time because what are the odds, etc. She can't swim btw.

I'm worried because my kid might grow up and be on a boat eventually, or something like that, and fall off and die. She said that those floaty-rings exists and that's all you need.

>>18175590
"From 2005-2014, there were an average of 3,536 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day. An additional 332 people died each year from drowning in boating-related incidents. About one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger."

That's from the CDC. Swimming pools kill a lot of people...

no but it will affect your final parenting grade for Life 101

>>18175590
>what are the odds that a human being will encounter a body of water in their life
pretty good to pretty darn good

I really don't understand how swimming or at least floating isn't intuitively obvious. You're literally born with the ability to float, just throw that little nigga in the water. The rest will come just from play.

>>18175574
Lifeguard here, the answer is yes.

Kids can drown in under a foot of water if you're REALLY unlucky. Infants can drown in fucking half-filled buckets. Kids can drown at pool parties, riverside barbeques, by hopping fences into a neighbour's backyard pool, the list is fucking endless.

If your kid has basic water safety knowledge and swimming skills, there is a 99% chance they won't fall a victim to any of these hazards.

>>18175590
no offense, but i think your friend is a bit dim. its not like learning to swim is some herculean task either, it's pretty easy to learn the basics to prevent oneself from drowning.

> She said that those floaty-rings exists and that's all you need.
100% absolutely not. go watch videos of people drowning, they all go under very, very quietly. if your kid slips out the floaty or loses it or w/e and someone isn't keeping an eye...that's it. and even rescuing a drowning person who can't swim is pretty dangerous to begin with.

>>18175576
>>18175584
im black and what is this