Teaching your child to swim in Thailand – you’ll be glad you did

[Inspire]

Teaching your child to swim in Thailand – you’ll be glad you did

 

 

The recent deaths of four school children in Korat is ample reminder of the importance of teaching your child to swim.

 

A 14 year old out celebrating end of term exam success with ten friends got into difficulty in a lake and when two friends tried to save her they all drowned. It was a tragic event but hardly one that is unusual in Thailand or elsewhere in the world for that matter.

 

The 14 year old reportedly could not swim and unexpectedly found herself out of her depth.

 

A paper on child drowning for the Thai Ministry of Public Health that began online in 2014 shows an alarming situation that continues to this day. In SE Asia there are almost a quarter of the worldwide deaths from child drowning per year.

 

Well in excess of 100,000 children under 15 die worldwide each year.

 

In Thailand a ten year average put the number of deaths of under 15s at more than 1,200 per year or four per day.

 

The death rate is up to 15 times higher in the kingdom than in more developed countries.

 

Though dropping somewhat in recent years it is still the leading cause of death among children under 15 compared to fatalities from all infectious and non-infectious diseases.

 

Quite simply if children cannot swim it is an accident waiting to happen.

 

For most city dwellers – either Thai or expatriate – there are few excuses for not teaching your child to swim. While many may not be lucky to have their own pool or one in the condo or estate where they live there are many inexpensive public pools or even water parks.

 

For country people a trip into a town to teach your child is not too expensive a day out. And if impossible then surely a dip in a pond under adult supervision – followed by a clean water shower – is better than seeing your child on a slab in the morgue.

 

I have been lucky in always living in Bangkok near a swimming pool mostly at places where I have lived over the last 35 years or the schools where I have worked. I am not a very good swimmer and I was 14 before a friend taught me how to at a swimming baths in South London.

 

I never had the advantages of an upbringing in Thailand – the pools were horrible places, cold and full of verruca – or so I used to think. At school my swimming teacher – the cruel Mr Whale – let me walk in the shallow end while he concentrated on the swimming team members.

 

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/teaching-child-swim-thailand-youll-glad/

 

 

-- © Copyright Inspire Pattaya 2017-03-19

[jollyhangmon]

... couldn't agree more! 

[masuk]

3 hours ago, Inspire said:

Teaching your child to swim in Thailand – you’ll be glad you did

 

 

The recent deaths of four school children in Korat is ample reminder of the importance of teaching your child to swim.

 

A 14 year old out celebrating end of term exam success with ten friends got into difficulty in a lake and when two friends tried to save her they all drowned. It was a tragic event but hardly one that is unusual in Thailand or elsewhere in the world for that matter.

 

The 14 year old reportedly could not swim and unexpectedly found herself out of her depth.

 

A paper on child drowning for the Thai Ministry of Public Health that began online in 2014 shows an alarming situation that continues to this day. In SE Asia there are almost a quarter of the worldwide deaths from child drowning per year.

 

Well in excess of 100,000 children under 15 die worldwide each year.

 

In Thailand a ten year average put the number of deaths of under 15s at more than 1,200 per year or four per day.

 

The death rate is up to 15 times higher in the kingdom than in more developed countries.

 

Though dropping somewhat in recent years it is still the leading cause of death among children under 15 compared to fatalities from all infectious and non-infectious diseases.

 

Quite simply if children cannot swim it is an accident waiting to happen.

 

For most city dwellers – either Thai or expatriate – there are few excuses for not teaching your child to swim. While many may not be lucky to have their own pool or one in the condo or estate where they live there are many inexpensive public pools or even water parks.

 

For country people a trip into a town to teach your child is not too expensive a day out. And if impossible then surely a dip in a pond under adult supervision – followed by a clean water shower – is better than seeing your child on a slab in the morgue.

 

I have been lucky in always living in Bangkok near a swimming pool mostly at places where I have lived over the last 35 years or the schools where I have worked. I am not a very good swimmer and I was 14 before a friend taught me how to at a swimming baths in South London.

 

I never had the advantages of an upbringing in Thailand – the pools were horrible places, cold and full of verruca – or so I used to think. At school my swimming teacher – the cruel Mr Whale – let me walk in the shallow end while he concentrated on the swimming team members.

 

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/teaching-child-swim-thailand-youll-glad/

 

 

-- © Copyright Inspire Pattaya 2017-03-19

I was pleased to see that Rotary in Chiang Mai have a special project running, which expats are asked to assist with; the aim being to teach as many as possible in Chiang Mai to swim.

 

They have produced ceramic owls for coins to go into, and proceeds to Rotary and the swimming project.

[elgordo38]

I never forgave my mother for not taking me for lessons. I envy people that can swim

 

Signed.

Edge of the pool grabber. 

[gjoo888]

Our daughter started swimming lessons at 3 yrs. old, and she's now an expert swimmer. It was well worth the time and effort, as my wife and I never had to worry about her safety around a pool or water. 

 

I couldn't agree more, teach your kids how to swim, for their safety and your peace of mind. 

Edited March 19, 2017 by gjoo888

[cardinalblue]

Don't agree that kids can learn on their own...some do need lessons and others do not...rate of learning and coordination vary immensely and it doesn't only apply to swimming...

 

some kids need structure and motivation and I am a strong believer in performance testing...

 

pool swimming is not the same as open water like a lake or ocean...

 

a definition of a good swimmer should include survival swimming - minimum of 10 minutes treading water...where can be debated...

[Kiwi1]

Yes, too many child deaths by drowning in Thailand. Situation made worse by fact that many parents cannot swim, cannot teach children to swim. A common attempt at remedying the situation is for parents to instill fear of water in children making it even more difficult to teach them to swim.

 

A similar situation once prevailed in New Zealand. The remedy was for the government to provide cement and other materials for small fenced swimming pools of standard design to be built in school grounds by volunteer labour from parents and teachers. The pool then became a community resource, much appreciated especially in isolated low income settlements.

 

Suitable teachers were trained as swimming instructors, and swimming lessons became part of the physical education programme.

 

This project was a great success and I believe runs to this day. 

[little mary sunshine]

So important