Child drowning cases – dramatic drop over two decades

By The Thaiger

 

 

The leading cause of death in Thai children, below the age of 15, is drowning.

 

“Even though the cases have recently fallen to an all time low, it’s still not low enough.”

 

“In nearly two decades there have been 22,700 drowning cases, that’s between the years 2000 and 2018. That averages nearly 1,300 child drownings every year.”

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/child-drowning-cases-dramatic-drop-over-two-decades

 

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2019-03-29

I'm always amazed at how 99% of Thai people I meet can't swim.. in a country surrounded by the sea. In Finland, if somebody told you they can't swim, it would be similar to saying you can't read or something. They should put mandatory swimming lessons for primary schools. 

9 minutes ago, SS1 said:

I'm always amazed at how 99% of Thai people I meet can't swim.. in a country surrounded by the sea. In Finland, if somebody told you they can't swim, it would be similar to saying you can't read or something. They should put mandatory swimming lessons for primary schools. 

 

The primary schools are struggling to buy enough books for the kids and you want to force them, to maintain a swimming pool?

2 hours ago, SS1 said:

I'm always amazed at how 99% of Thai people I meet can't swim.. in a country surrounded by the sea. In Finland, if somebody told you they can't swim, it would be similar to saying you can't read or something. They should put mandatory swimming lessons for primary schools. 

 

‘ .... in a country surrounded by the sea ...’ My dear fellow, when was the last time you looked at a map of Thailand? ????

 

But I take your point. A FB friend posted a video, without a ‘graphic viewing’ warning. Three young, Thai children were playing on a narrow track running over a river. All three of them couldn’t have been more than three years old. A security camera attached to the house relentlessly recorded the tragedy as it unfolded.

 

One of them gets up, stands on the edge looking down at the water and just topples over into the river. The other two, immediately, do the same thing, one after the other. It was like a group mind, perhaps because they were siblings, that made them act as one. Three young children gone in less than 10 seconds; there were no adults, or older children, to supervise them.

 

And then there was a still photo of mum and dad sitting on the grass next to the bodies of their three children, which had just been pulled out of the river.

 

Although I could only watch the video once, and it was two years ago, the memory of it will live with me for the rest of my life. 

 

I won’t post it here, even with a warning, because it is too distressing to watch.

 

They were too young to learn how to swim, but leaving young, unsupervised children near water, even if it is a shallow paddling pool, or garden pond, is often a tragedy waiting to happen ????

Edited March 29, 20197 yr by silver sea

could it be drought situations are related to a falling drowning incidence?

11 hours ago, webfact said:

dramatic drop over two decades

Why not publish the numbers of the "dramatic drop" ?

7 hours ago, SS1 said:

I'm always amazed at how 99% of Thai people I meet can't swim.. in a country surrounded by the sea. In Finland, if somebody told you they can't swim, it would be similar to saying you can't read or something. They should put mandatory swimming lessons for primary schools. 

Not a lot of sea surrounding Isarn, the local schools are unable to maintain a patch of grass for the kids to play on never mind maintain a swimming pool!

Unless the figures quoted are converted to drowning deaths per 100,000 children aged up to 11, the figures are meaningless. You cannot just quote raw data. You cannot learn anything from that.

 

And to @silver sea 's point, yes, unsupervised child activity near water is prevalent everywhere and very disturbing.

 

And to @Kieran00001 's point, there is virtually nowhere in Thailand that does not have a bor where kids could learn to swim if the political will were there. The "can't swim" problem has nothing to do with money.

On 3/29/2019 at 8:51 AM, Kieran00001 said:

 

The primary schools are struggling to buy enough books for the kids and you want to force them, to maintain a swimming pool?

Not expecting schools to have a swimming pool of course, I've never seen one even in Europe. But bring them on a bus to a public swimming pool for lessons, that's what they did when I was in school. 

On 3/29/2019 at 3:59 PM, Briggsy said:

Unless the figures quoted are converted to drowning deaths per 100,000 children aged up to 11, the figures are meaningless. You cannot just quote raw data. You cannot learn anything from that.

 

And to @silver sea 's point, yes, unsupervised child activity near water is prevalent everywhere and very disturbing.

 

And to @Kieran00001 's point, there is virtually nowhere in Thailand that does not have a bor where kids could learn to swim if the political will were there. The "can't swim" problem has nothing to do with money.

 

Of course it means something, that is how many drown, we can learn that, did you think the only thing to learn was com parables to other places?

 

Not sure why you think it has nothing to do with money but you may have noticed that most schools in Thailand cannot afford glass in the windows, yet you assume they can afford trips out and extra staff, you're dreaming.

On 3/30/2019 at 3:13 PM, SS1 said:

Not expecting schools to have a swimming pool of course, I've never seen one even in Europe. But bring them on a bus to a public swimming pool for lessons, that's what they did when I was in school. 

 

Most rural places in Thailand do not have a pool.

3 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

Not sure why you think it has nothing to do with money but you may have noticed that most schools in Thailand cannot afford glass in the windows, yet you assume they can afford trips out and extra staff, you're dreaming.

We were discussing the reasons behind Thai children not being able to swim.

 

You suggested it was because schools could not afford swimming pools.

 

I pointed out a weakness in your reasoning. That weakness is that bors (ponds) are ubiquitous in Thailand. Children can learn to swim in a bor. Therefore I do not find your reasoning compelling.

 

You then constructed a straw man by misrepresenting my argument as saying schools do have money. However I made no statement either way on that. You then demolished your straw man to "win" the argument.

 

I will finish by saying the reason children have low levels of swimming ability here is because they are not taught (swimming pool, bor, wherever) and this in turn is because both the relevant government ministries (Education?, Tourism & Sport?) and parents place little or zero priority on teaching Thailand's kids to swim.

4 hours ago, Briggsy said:

We were discussing the reasons behind Thai children not being able to swim.

 

You suggested it was because schools could not afford swimming pools.

 

I pointed out a weakness in your reasoning. That weakness is that bors (ponds) are ubiquitous in Thailand. Children can learn to swim in a bor. Therefore I do not find your reasoning compelling.

 

You then constructed a straw man by misrepresenting my argument as saying schools do have money. However I made no statement either way on that. You then demolished your straw man to "win" the argument.

 

I will finish by saying the reason children have low levels of swimming ability here is because they are not taught (swimming pool, bor, wherever) and this in turn is because both the relevant government ministries (Education?, Tourism & Sport?) and parents place little or zero priority on teaching Thailand's kids to swim.

 

Good grief, you jumped into our conversation about schools not teaching kids to swim with your pond idea.  I pointed out to you that schools taking kids for swimming lessons in a pond still requires money for the journey and the extra staff.

 

And what ponds are you talking about anyway?  In the main they are fish farms, lotus ponds and buffalo holes, none of which are suitable for swimming due to the mud, what ponds in Thailand are suitable?