Why “Sink or swim” is such a bad idea.

I teach swimming. I’m good at it. I have a waiting list of people looking to take lessons with me. I teach adults and children.

I mostly teach people who are afraid of the water.

When I tell people that I teach swimming, a fair amount say: “Oh! My uncle Jethro just threw me in! I learned fine! Don’t need no lessons!”

Well, a lot of the people who come to see me had a sadistic “Uncle Jethro” themselves. They were thrown into a body of water, almost drowned, and quickly developed a lifelong terror of water.

Cool, huh? Is that what you want for the kids in your life?

I had one student who was from Afghanistan. His uncle threw him into a river when he was 9. He blacked out. His uncle almost killed him. I’m gonna guess that there weren’t great first responder-type services in Afghanistan, 30 years ago. But, he survived.

He drove an hour to see me when he finally decided that he’d tired of not knowing how to swim. We got him swimming.

It doesn’t make you weak to take lessons. It DOES make you an idiot to throw a child into water.

Just because someone survives a near-drowning experience doesn’t mean that this method is good. When it goes wrong, it goes VERY wrong.

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children. If you are going to teach them, yourself, move slowly. Reassure them. Support them. Don’t lie to them or surprise them. But, especially, do NOT toss them into a body of water and hope that they figure it out.