Learn to Swim - the life you save could be your own

You may have read that in the USA babies are being taught to swim. Babies. Yes, babies.

Babies Swimming
"Why not?" shrugs a member of my family. "Toddlers can learn to ride trikes."

Let me make an outrageous suggestion. Babies should be taught to swim or float before they leave hospital.

Hospital
I remember going to ante-natal classes. Nothing about swimming.

However, when I was pregnant, I insisted that my husband should learn to swim. I could swim. But what if I was in the toilet or elsewhere when our offspring needed to be fished out of water?

Let me make a second outrageous suggestion. Expectant mothers and women who have given birth should be given a book on first aid and more importantly healthy and sfety and cissident prevention before leaving hospital when pregnant or with a newborn.

Outrageous? Impossible? When I went into the offices of Infineum I could not leave reception for the meeting (of a Toastmasters speakers' training meeting) until I had watched a ten minute safety video (about fire exits etc) and both the receptioist and I had signed that I watched it.

The same when I went to Shell petroleum island off Singapore. (Again, for a Toastmasters speaker's training. I was not going anywhere near the huge containers of oil. But I still had to watch the safety video, about cigarettes, cigarette lighters, cameras and mobile phones causing sparks, safety, evacuation, first aid points, and so on.

At a toastmasters meeting I watched a presentation by somebody who had been caught in a rip tide, showing how you swim parallel to the shore until you are carried in or can escape to the shore.

Even more frequent are swimming accidents in pools at home. So much so that Australia made it manaory to fence in back yard or back garden swimming pools, and promoted the idea on postage stamps. (I saw the stamps and read about this in New Zealand in a stamp collection exhbition at a post office.)

USA - Pool Deaths
Over in the USA, earlier in 2020, a family of three died in the back garden (Americans say back yard) of their new home. They were Indians, an extended family. A girl went into the deep end. two adults died trying to save her.

Sunken Above Ground Pools.
Apparently you can buy back garden pools about five feed deep, with one or two feet of wall above the water level. But you can sink one end into the ground to provide a deep end.

Rockville Maryland Insurance
When I lived in Rockville, Maryland, our condo complex had a pool surrounded by tennis court height wire netting, locked at night and when the two lifeguards were not in attendance. Why two guards? So that one can go to the toilet or for a meal break and you still have one person in attendance.

Rescue
Also it's quite difficult to rescue somebody. They put their hands around your neck and both of you go down together. I know. Because when I was a teenager I tried to rescue my mother. I sreamed and swam towards her. That made two of us under the water. My father jumped in from one end, fully clothed, and another man jumped in from the other end. They managed to separate my mother from me and between the two of them pulled her to the side, each holding one of her arms. Neighter of them thought to help me. I was choking and managed to doggy paddle to the side.

Insurance
If I were in charge of insurance, what would I do? First, I would demand that all schools made it conpulsory to show schoolchildren a video about swimming on day one in assembly. Especially any school with a pool, or a nearby river or canal in their city or countryside.

For household insurance, I would make it mandatory to display signs covering these:
1 The depth of the pool
2 Contact details of swimming video and swimming lessons.
3 Emergency phone.
$ Resuscitation techniques.
A  fence around the pool with a lockable gate.
Rescue rings which can be thrown.
Markings of deep end.
Markings of shallow end, with ladder or stairs at the shallow end to encourage non swimmers to go in at that end.
Pool must not be filled for new occupants of the dwelling unless gate is locked and a swimmer is in attendance whenever non swimmers are in the pool.
One person in each family should be trained in swimming and life saving.

UK Doctor Said - Don;t Swim Alone
In the UK a friend of mine married a doctor and they had a house with a small swimming pool in their back garden. The doctor made it a rule that his wife could never swim alone when he was out. She had to call in a neighbour or phone a friend.

Safety Devices to Install
You can also install swimming pool covers, and alarms to alert you to protect pets or wild animals or intruders, if gates are opened or movemnt is detected.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_swimming
Useful Websites On Swimming
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_stroke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distress_signal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiopulmonary_resuscitation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emergency_telephone_numbers
https://www.mypoolsigns.com/pool-safety-signs
https://www.swimmingpool.com/pool-living/pool-safety/
AUSTRALIA
https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/training/in-page-features/frequently-asked-questions
NEW ZEALAND
https://www.building.govt.nz/building-code-compliance/f-safety-of-users/pool-safety/guidance-for-pool-owners/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.