Phuket Opinion: Life aquatic starts at a young age

[Lite Beer]

Phuket Opinion: Life aquatic starts at a young age
Phuket Gazette -

Babies' brains are hardwired to pick up swimming naturally at about the same age children learn to walk. Photo: Gazette Graphics

PHUKET: Much has been written about water safety in this space over the years. However, with a focus on maritime accidents and tourist drownings, we have neglected the troubling issue of the island’s children not being properly taught to swim, as a series of heartbreaking tragedies in recent weeks indicates

As the only “naked ape”, there can be little doubt that humankind’s unique ability among primates to master swimming has been an important, yet often overlooked, element of our evolutionary success.

Swimming, along with a host of other advanced cognitive and physical abilities, is best developed from an early age. There is considerable evidence to indicate that our brains our “hardwired” to pick up swimming naturally at about the same age we learn to walk.

However, lack of natural exposure to water during these years often ends much the same as an eye deprived of light during formative years – it fails to develop.

Learning to swim is like learning a language, the longer it is put off the harder it is.

Many organizations dedicated to child safety, such as the American Society of Pediatrics, now say that children as young as one year of age can benefit from informal swimming lessons. Studies cited show a decrease in the odds of drowning deaths, even in this age range.

However, the benefits do not stop there. Research led by Griffith University in Australia last year revealed that children who can swim also demonstrate more advanced cognitive and physical abilities than their non-swimming peers.

The children in the study were anywhere from six to 15 months ahead of the normal population when it came to problem solving in mathematics, counting, language and following instructions.

On Phuket, children are exposed to open water far more often than their counterparts in most other places in the world. In addition to our beaches, there are tin mine ponds, canals – not to mention thousands of swimming pools, few with lifeguards.

Unfortunately, there are only a handful of schools on the island that include swimming as part of their physical education program, and even in these cases the methods of instruction and time of exposure to water are often inadequate.

Most drowning deaths are the direct result of panic, so the key to avoiding them is confidence, which is the product of success over time. In fact, if people simply had the confidence to float in water over their heads, it would prevent the vast majority of drowning tragedies that are chronicled so often in these pages.

Parents need to consider the rewards of teaching their kids to swim from an early age. The cost can be as little as a weekly trip to a local beach, and in this regard we are truly spoiled for choice.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Phuket-Opinion-Life-aquatic-starts-at-a-young-age-24541.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2014-02-09

[PaullyW]

First thing that struck me is the graphic on the article. A bit like 1950s America. Is this how they see us - even though cartoonish? Fascinating.

[Greer]

Being brought up in Australia where virtually every school child is taught to swim at an early age, and regular swimming lessons were a part of growing up, I made sure that my kids could swim, and that the schools they attended here in Thailand had swimming pools and formal lessons - even learning the basics is a good thing. The kids naturally took to it and enjoy swimming and being in and around water, so its a great relief knowing that they are pretty safe in terms of ability to swim.

The next thing is making them familiar with reading the surf, which I think should definitely be part of any swimming lessons in places like Phuket. When my kids move to Australia to continue studies, I will be talking to them about learning to read the surf (never having any chance to learn that aspect in Bangkok) - its not too hard to learn the basics in how to recognise likely places where rips may occur and seeing the way the waves curl to know about undercurrents. The other big thing is knowing how to get out of trouble in a current taking you away from the beach - using the waves, and swimming across the current, not against it.

[brianP]

I learned to swim at 3, and so did my boy. He has taught his cousins to swim and some neighbor kids here too. He tells them to never get too comfortable in the water, and never turn your back on the talay.

Wonder where he heard that?

[eezergood]

OUr baby is 6 months and already loves the pool.

[andreandre]

OUr baby is 6 months and already loves the pool.

Never too young..i put my son in swimming pool first time when he was 3 months old [back in the 70's] before it was even widely known of the benefits...

He was basically swimming long before he walked..

He was so much at home in the water for the rest of his life...

[eezergood]

OUr baby is 6 months and already loves the pool.

Never too young..i put my son in swimming pool first time when he was 3 months old [back in the 70's] before it was even widely known of the benefits...

He was basically swimming long before he walked..

He was so much at home in the water for the rest of his life...

Could not agree more - think we started him about the same 12-14 weeks in the inflatable pool in the house

[billywizz]

being the youngest of six I learned to swim before I could walk. I remember my old man taking me to the park one Saturday morning and renting a rowing boat. he rowed to the centere of the lake then without warning threw me over the side. so I didn't have much option but to learn to swim pretty darn fast. having said that I did find swimming came naturally. It was getting out of the f*****g sack that was the problem.