Please, Please Learn How to Swim
Jul. 6th, 2011 11:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ericadawn16It's summer again so I'm making this plea again.
Please learn how to swim. If this is impossible, please make sure the children in your life know how to swim.
Pasco is coming up with a budget and public pools aren't in it. "It seems like so many subdivisions have pools and people have pools," Commissioner Pat Mulieri said.
That's not my impression but whatever, I guess when you and all your rich friends have pools, you tend to forget about the poor.
You see, those public pools offer low cost swim lessons. Mine were just 25 dollars 15 years ago or so. The poor is most at risk. They're more likely to be swimming in less than ideal conditions: rivers, lakes, ditches, abandoned pools. If they get in trouble, they might have a buddy to save them...or they might not and definitely no lifeguard.
Last year, a study was released from USA Swimming that 69% of black children and 58% of Latino children have either no or low swimming ability. Drowning is the leading cause of death among those under 5 and Florida has twice as many deaths as the national average, but taking away a source of preventing that number from being even higher? GREAT idea!
(sigh)
I understand how it's better to close a pool than a library. However, I wrote them about trying to establish partnerships between the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs and available pools. Really, swimming should be a required course like Algebra or Critical Thinking.
So, while you can, please make sure the kids around you can swim and if you can and you feel you're not a good enough swimmer, take some lessons yourself. CPR is also a good idea.
Please also this summer, you might have abandoned houses in your neighborhood. If they have pools, check on them from time to time to make sure all gates are properly secured and that no one's been hopping the fence. If it has water, it could be irresistible to kids and if it doesn't, then it'd be irresistible to skateboarders...yes, I'm old, that's what we called them in the 80s when we all had boards. Either way, an abandoned pool can be very dangerous and we don't want anyone getting hurt or killed.
Please learn how to swim. If this is impossible, please make sure the children in your life know how to swim.
Pasco is coming up with a budget and public pools aren't in it. "It seems like so many subdivisions have pools and people have pools," Commissioner Pat Mulieri said.
That's not my impression but whatever, I guess when you and all your rich friends have pools, you tend to forget about the poor.
You see, those public pools offer low cost swim lessons. Mine were just 25 dollars 15 years ago or so. The poor is most at risk. They're more likely to be swimming in less than ideal conditions: rivers, lakes, ditches, abandoned pools. If they get in trouble, they might have a buddy to save them...or they might not and definitely no lifeguard.
Last year, a study was released from USA Swimming that 69% of black children and 58% of Latino children have either no or low swimming ability. Drowning is the leading cause of death among those under 5 and Florida has twice as many deaths as the national average, but taking away a source of preventing that number from being even higher? GREAT idea!
(sigh)
I understand how it's better to close a pool than a library. However, I wrote them about trying to establish partnerships between the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs and available pools. Really, swimming should be a required course like Algebra or Critical Thinking.
So, while you can, please make sure the kids around you can swim and if you can and you feel you're not a good enough swimmer, take some lessons yourself. CPR is also a good idea.
Please also this summer, you might have abandoned houses in your neighborhood. If they have pools, check on them from time to time to make sure all gates are properly secured and that no one's been hopping the fence. If it has water, it could be irresistible to kids and if it doesn't, then it'd be irresistible to skateboarders...yes, I'm old, that's what we called them in the 80s when we all had boards. Either way, an abandoned pool can be very dangerous and we don't want anyone getting hurt or killed.
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 02:57 am (UTC)But if you mean, is it something that is available outside of the internet, then the answer is a resounding, yes.
It is available all year 'round here. We are, after all, a country that prides itself on it's water culture - beaches, surfing, swimming... all these things play a HUGE part of the Australian lifestyle. But the campaign is most often at it's strongest during the September through to April period, when the weather is warming up.
The program is taught at schools (both swimming schools and regular, every-day schools - especially as most schools these days have their own swimming pools on-site and incorporate swimming lessons as part of Early years development education), and there are tv campaigns and ... Yes. LoL. (Sorry, this comment got longer than I intended).
no subject
Date: 2011-07-08 04:38 am (UTC)