Beng Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 How about mandatory swimming lessons in school for all kids! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oziex1 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Taken from the US CDC website: "Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States". Unintentional drowning? Is there intentional drowning, not to make lite of a serious issue but it sounds odd to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bloggs Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Just a few comments as Im a newbie. Schools dont need a pool, in Oz on the Gold Coast about 4 local schools share a 25 metre pool. Yep in sections of other societies parents are exactly as some have described Thai parents. Quoting figures from all over the world mean nada, and throwing in vehicle deaths does nothing, any death that can be prevented is tragic, getting good people involved would help. But as I say I dont know it all but it seems a waste of young lives. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oziex1 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Awful statistics and IMO nothing will change Kids run around unsupervised and parents are clueless Yes all kids should be taught how to swim but who is gonna pay for it? Lack of pools, lack of qualified instructors, a lack of funding and an I do not give a crap about it attittude from parents and leaders Nah, they don't give a crap! And not a constructive thought about the reasons. Yep, it's all in the hands of a higher power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beenitseenitdoneit Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Until life has a value in Thailand, the number of deaths each year will probably increase. Change the culture first, then this might have an impact. What culture? The culture that it is possible to interfere that these poor souls don't have to die this way, that it is NOT ordained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) It's due to neglect - most Thai parents give a toss and have their kids just live alongside like a cat or dog, best if they can drop them at school early and pick them up late so they're out of the way. Great if they go somewhere to a lake, waterfall or river in the afternoon with thier friends, providing some free extra quality time to mom and dad to watch some braindead Thai soaps on the telly while gulping down some Lao Khao mixed with red or green Fanta. Same goes for aunts, uncles and grandparents who have to bring up the small ones because mom has been impregnated by a useless 15 year old drug addicted punk (who did not and will not achieve anything ever in life despite a wheelie on his pimped-up Honda Click) who fled to another province as soon as the belly showed and mom ended up in some girlie bar in the south... Let's face it - the majority of Thai parents care just about themselves, kids are a necessary burden because later, as adults, they will provide for their card playing, gambling, alcohol addicted parents who never gave them a hug, or kiss, letting alone teaching them empathy or other human values. You poor, sad, sorry individual. Get off the bar stool & venture into the real LOS. Numerous kids in my village, all extremely well cared for & loved. Always with a BIG grin or smile on their face. Always polite with a wave for a silly ol farang. Before you get on your high horse, no, I'm not a Thai apologist. I know all about the scams of bar girls & gold diggers. Been there... done that. I do speak with several years experience of both the good & the bad situations. Admittedly, there are a few parents that should have a license to breed. But in the main, most rural folk are decent caring parents & providers. I feel a lot more sorry for you than any kid in my village. malt25 - never judge a b ook by its cover! I am here since 23 years and have been working much more hours than most Expats I know here and sit on a bar stool perhaps twice per year when friends from overseas come to visit. If you think that one can make a living here sleeping in a hammock, you are badly mistaken. I send my kids who are half Thai, half foreign to school every day and observe how most Thai parents, grandpas, uncles and aunts "drop" the little ones at school and I can tell you that if they could just toss the kids off their motorbike at full speed without killing them, they would. There is no hug, or goodbye kiss, no affection, not even a look back, absolutely NOTHING! The only ones who care, sending their kids all the way in, holding their hands, hugging them, giving them a kiss are us and all the Thai people from our village here who are shop owners, entrepreneurs, etc. who work hard, thus made enough money to own a shop, business, car, etc. (let me call them middle class) - they seem to have completely different priorities in life than the average (or should I say, low class) Thai. Malt... I have seen so much neglect, seen the stories with those Honda Click punks ditching their underage pregnant girlfriends, etc. to an extend that I just wanna puke. Education and more love and care from parents would be the key, but most (low class) Thais simply don't care. They never received affection and love from their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts and never learned to give it. This coldeness their children inherit and pass it on to the next generations. It is just so sad to see, and yes - it makes me angry! Let me add this: As soon as we enter the so-called HiSo stage, things seem to revert again - here, parents are so in love with themselves and so self-centered and busy with shopping, shady land deals, attending cocktail receptions, etc. that there is no time left for the kids. Those unfortunate kids are "paid off" with cash, electronic gadgets, bikes, etc. but otherwise should shut up and stay out of the way. To those parents the kids are only good for a family Selfie to show others that "they care" and for other business reasons and to later send them to Harvard or whatever to show how rich and "caring" they are. Their kids return as perfectly English speaking strangers who again - never learned empathy or human values from their parents. Malty... Does the fact that I am able to think outside the box and that I had a good look behind the curtain of the land of smiles in my 23 years here make you such a sarcastic bad mouth? I think so and I feel sad for you too! Edited March 31, 2015 by catweazle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banzai99 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) How many of you experts came to Thailand of your own free will, married one of these uncaring selfish people and live in this backward 3rd world country by choice ? You could try Spain if you like good weather, and as you experts know, the Spanish are very Family orientated, and there's no way they don't care for their kids, right, just like all us White folks, hang on a minute...... http://spanishnewstoday.com/almost-all-spanish-child-pool-deaths-could-be-avoided_20043-a.html#.VRoTF_mUd8E Looks like Europes out, you could try the Americas, hang on a minute..... There's 372,000 reported drowning deaths per year worldwide, oh my god, what does that mean, that nobody gives a toss, uncaring, uneducated and with a mai pen rai attitude just like these subhumans you choose to live amongst ? http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs347/en/ Oh, and Catweazle, your 23 years here is less than many many others, including me, so it means nothing, just seems like you should have left 22 years ago. Edited March 31, 2015 by Banzai99 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandyellow Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 We Now have a NEW meaning for "OVER THE TOP" - 402 children drown each summer in Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carter1882 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Rather than criticising parents i would explain something to them calmly and clearly. Drowning is a silent death, contrary to most people's intuition. You can be very close to the person drowning but you will not hear a thing. The way to prevent drowning especially of little children who cannot swim, is to watch them, to maintain line of sight. This means putting away phones and texting devices, or parents taking turns. Drowning often happens in close proximity to those momentarily distracted. Drowning the silent death. You need to be watching for the struggle when the hand goes up. Explain that rather than giving up.....you may help to save a life one day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandtee Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 It's due to neglect - most Thai parents give a toss and have their kids just live alongside like a cat or dog, best if they can drop them at school early and pick them up late so they're out of the way. Great if they go somewhere to a lake, waterfall or river in the afternoon with thier friends, providing some free extra quality time to mom and dad to watch some braindead Thai soaps on the telly while gulping down some Lao Khao mixed with red or green Fanta. Same goes for aunts, uncles and grandparents who have to bring up the small ones because mom has been impregnated by a useless 15 year old drug addicted punk (who did not and will not achieve anything ever in life despite a wheelie on his pimped-up Honda Click) who fled to another province as soon as the belly showed and mom ended up in some girlie bar in the south... Let's face it - the majority of Thai parents care just about themselves, kids are a necessary burden because later, as adults, they will provide for their card playing, gambling, alcohol addicted parents who never gave them a hug, or kiss, letting alone teaching them empathy or other human values. So, other than that, Thai parents are OK? Give me a break. I have today, attended a ceremony where children have been awarded certificates for completing a weeks sail training with quite a few capsizes. Some of these kids were as young as six, and all surrounded by caring parents. Don't tar everyone with the same brush by making sweeping, inane statements. Methinks that maybe we are a tad depressed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 @ Banzai - I am sorry you feel that way! Sure this country would be better off accommodating a larger quantity of superficial and mentally challenged Expat "oltimers" such as yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickJ Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Wow...thought it read 420 kids.......anyways...if you have a pool at your house....i got a small one.....teach em...been doing it for years.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistachios Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Catweazle has a point. Look at this recent article : http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Boy-drowns-Nai-Harn-Lake/56719 This pond has seen countless tragic drownings, the list is horrifying. Every thai around here know what's happening there. My wife knew about the last drowning before anything reached the news outlet. Word of mouth is pretty much instant. And yet, year after year kids die because their stupid parents leave them to play in the water unsupervised. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingdoc Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I spoke to some Thais at Uni about this age old problem, and they said that they understood the lack of funding for both swimming pools and instructors, but did come up with another simple but effective solution - at least for making a start ! Why not start a fund to provide simple, inexpensive swimming aids, such as plastic rings, arm bands and the like? This would make learning to swim fun and easier to start, as well as requiring no instruction except minimal family participation. It does indeed seem like a win - win situation to me ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maidee Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 one dies, well, time to make another one it will come back recarnation and all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbz Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I agree with what has been previously mentioned, "mandatory swimming lessons for all children" . Even if that means having summer camps for swimming lessons only. That is the only answer to this horrific problem. It should be above everything else as Thailand's top priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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