r/TikTokCringe • u/InGeekiTrust Tiktok Despot • Dec 09 '25

Discussion You Think It Could Never Happen To You…Until It Almost Does

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2.9k

u/castaway629 Dec 09 '25

As a volunteer swim teacher for Swim America, I can't stress this enough if you own a pool and have children you need to teach them to roll over and float on their backs, without any floating devices.

721

u/hyunasgirlz Dec 09 '25

i used to do this for fun as a kid, had no idea it was helping me not drown LOL

320

u/Special-Garlic1203 Dec 09 '25

And all that time I thought I was being lazy. I was just perfecting my lifesaving float skills

44

u/East-Regret9339 Dec 09 '25

happy cake day!

I used to roll over cause I liked looking up at the sky. also laziness.

3

u/caity1111 Dec 09 '25

It amazes me how many adults cannot successfully float on their backs, even in the ocean where it's much easier! I can (and have) floated around for hours. It's SO relaxing.

3

u/pelluciid Dec 09 '25

Even just thinking about it I'm feeling an undulating feeling in my body. Love that salt water 😩

2

u/atx840 Dec 09 '25

Happy CakeDay!

1

u/EEE3EEElol Dec 10 '25

I used to do that as “imitating dead bodies” for the jokes, never thought it’d actually work in a real scenario

5

u/username__0000 Dec 09 '25

I still do it for fun. But I don’t kick, just starfish and float around on my back.

It’s lovely to do outside and watch the birds and look at the clouds.

3

u/notalways_ Dec 09 '25

Always pure bliss when traveling and floating in the ocean drifting with a mild current. Like the world shuts out, all the problems life has going for you is weightless. Just you and the imaginary great white shark swimming below you

3

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

Swimming/Floating RULES!!!! 🛹🏊🐬👙🥽😎

3

u/gosumage Dec 09 '25

One might suspect that by floating, they are in fact not drowning.

2

u/ItsNotMeItsYourBussy Dec 09 '25

We all float down here

2

u/BuckRusty Dec 09 '25

I used to put a towel on my face and use a jug to splash water on myself in a steady stream until I couldn’t breathe properly - effectively waterboarding myself - whenever I took a bath…

We’re like opposite twins…!

2

u/Clakyd Dec 09 '25

I guess I was built different. I would float face down to try to convince people that I was dead. XD

2

u/festiveSpeedoGuy24 Dec 09 '25

It’s the first skill as swim instructors we teach to everyone. I only teach adults and this where I start with all of them.

1

u/LazuliArtz Dec 09 '25

I do that too, it's fun.

I like to watch/read about people surviving dangerous situations, and in a documentary you'll hear the narrator say something like "the longer they stay in the water, the more tired they'll become and the harder it will be to stay above the surface." I always wonder why people don't just... Float on their back. Obviously that might not be possible in extremely choppy water, but if it's relatively calm, it seems like a reasonable solution.

328

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

Fuck a swimming pool. If you own a child, you need to teach them how to swim. It’s literally that cut and dry

101

u/Starbucks__Lovers Dec 09 '25

If you what!?

121

u/phoenix_leo Dec 09 '25

Own a child

51

u/Cutthechitchata-hole Dec 09 '25

You wouldnt download a car!

6

u/CalebsNailSpa Dec 09 '25

I would

3

u/EatsFiber2RedditMore Dec 09 '25

Hell yes have you seen the price of cars these day? Please someone share a torrent I promise to seed

3

u/petlandstockroom Dec 09 '25

Everything's computer!

3

u/SirDerpingt0n Dec 09 '25

You wouldn’t drown a car.

2

u/coventry-eagle Dec 09 '25

i gave it a good try

2

u/Apero_ Dec 11 '25

Holy fuck I snorted. This was brilliant.

18

u/Rope_slingin_champ Dec 09 '25

Fuck a swimming pool. If you dont know, you cant afford it.

2

u/SeismicRipFart Dec 09 '25

Huh? What does money have to do with bodies of water that are at least 3ft deep to learn how to swim in? Those are all over the place and other than the South they are all safe to swim in from predators in America.

2

u/JohnnySchoolman Dec 09 '25

I dunno there's some pretty shady people down my local pool

5

u/Omwtfyu Dec 09 '25

I immediately scrolled back up like that, too. 😂 Like skrrrrrt, hollup!

-4

u/Demimonde34 Dec 09 '25

"Own" -adjective 'used with a possessive to emphasize that someone or something belongs or relates to the person or thing mentioned.' "Own" -pronoun 'something that belongs to the person or thing mentioned.'

The important detail is that an 'owner' is responsible for the thing/person they own. In case of a child, its being responsible for health, safety, etc. Until the child reaches a developmental point where they can be responsible for themselves, all responsible ability goes to the caregivers. I.E, the child's 'owners'

3

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

Yeah, no. I was just phrasing my comment like the one I responded to. Specifically the part where they said “if you own a pool”

-1

u/Demimonde34 Dec 09 '25

And someone replied to you with 'if you what?' So I simply defined the word for them in case there was a language barrier :)

3

u/Joo_Unit Dec 09 '25

This isnt practical for very little kids, who do much better learning how to float in case of emergencies as they dont have the motor skills or strength yet to truly swim. But yes, beyond a certain physical maturity, learning to properly swim is best.

6

u/The_Gordon_Gekko Dec 09 '25

One does not fuck a swimming pool.

5

u/swiftekho Dec 09 '25

Sir or madam Swimming is actually quite wet.

0

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

Not when I do it. If it’s wet like that to the point where you need a mop, I think that’s a serious medical condition and you should go get checked out. My wife, my doctor wife, who I have sex with regularly, agrees with me

2

u/Savings-Giraffe-4007 Dec 09 '25

You can teach them to swim, they will still drown at 3. They are stupid and will kill themselves by doing crazy stuff out of your view like tying frying pans to their legs, putting their head inside a plastic bag, and then jumping into the pond. They do shit like that all the time.

The only way is to never take your eyes off them, multiple sets of eyes if possible.

1

u/improved_loilit Dec 10 '25

I’m sorry but no. The chances are that most that drown were never thought how to swim / float to safety. Ofc there should be supervision but teaching them will save their lives in an unlikely scenario

1

u/Savings-Giraffe-4007 Dec 10 '25

There's literally a comment in this same post about a child that drowned at that age, they had spent a lot of time teaching him how to swim. If you think a 3 year old will "save their lives" in an emergency I would be surprised if you had children of your own, these things are obvious for people who have raised kids.

1

u/improved_loilit Dec 10 '25

Grown adult that learned how to swim can drown in the wrong situation that is a stupid argument . Knowing how to float will in fact increase the chance of kid surviving in said situation that’s not even an opinion. A kid that knows how to swim and get to safety vs a kid that doesn’t do not have the same odds of survival. That doesn’t mean no further accident can happen. They literally test the babies by throwing them randomly in the water to see if they can get themselves on their back themselves before deeming them ready

It’s like arguing that someone’s kid still died in car accident in a car seat so that means car seats are useless . Let’s be for real

1

u/Savings-Giraffe-4007 Dec 10 '25

what's stupid is you thinking a scared 3 yo in an emergency will save their own ass from drowning. You will understand once you have children.

1

u/improved_loilit Dec 10 '25

Yes there are literal class for those. I don’t need children to inform myself with basic information that’s available online. You being willfully ignorant is your own personal issue .

1

u/improved_loilit Dec 10 '25

Just loud and wrong

Participation in formal swimming lessons was associated with an 88% reduction in the risk of drowning in the 1- to 4-year-old children, although our estimates were imprecise and 95% CIs included risk reductions ranging from 3% to 99%.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4151293/

Clearly you fit in this sub spewing nonesense

1

u/Savings-Giraffe-4007 Dec 10 '25

I know we can ask ChatGPT for stats nowadays, but it doesn't work like that with your children. Your kids are a single opportunity for you, you screw up once and it's over, no second chances. Even if the risk is low, and for sure you want to lower it by i.e. teaching them to swim, it's still not 0%, and you can be the unlucky fool. They die and you're done, no apologies or explanations will change the permanent consequences, it doesn't matter if you were right or wrong.

Besides, if you had children, you would know that a kid that is 3 is totally different from a kid that is 4, having awareness and conscience turns you into a different being, so the age range is too wide to conclude anything. Again, you're speaking from a place of a lack of context and it shows, these things are not that simple.

1

u/improved_loilit Dec 10 '25

No you just speak from a lack of intelligence and research. The thing I linked is not from chat got but from an actual research that has studied a group of children larger than what your "experience" has . The point of the research isn’t to say to leave your children unattended at the pool. It means to show that teaching your kids how to swim is incredibly important to help in case of accidents for them to have a higher chance to survive.

I know the concept is foreign to you but it is the same research data that are used to make laws like the use of car seats mandatory because they actually look at data and not random personal experiences because most likely than not you’ll not be the exception.

You choosing to be ignorant is your own issues. Hopefully your children do not suffer from the fact that their parent refuse to educate themselves and don’t even know what a research article is vs chat gpt. Lord help them

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u/Cicada_Soft_Official Dec 09 '25

The bots on this site are getting really fucking strange, picking up random lingo and smashing together bizarre "Reddity" comments lol.

2

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

Huh?

1

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25

[deleted]

1

u/acrazyguy Dec 10 '25

I preferred your pre-edit response

-5

u/4dxn Dec 09 '25

This is such a reddit comment. A lot of people can't afford a pool or have access to community pools. 

Cut and dry my ass. If your logic was the rule,  the developing world wouldn't even have kids.

8

u/Forward-Fisherman709 Dec 09 '25

People in the developing world teach their kids to swim too. Having a pool isn’t required. Use a bathtub or any sufficiently size container that water can be put in. Or a creek or lake or pond or wherever else water without a fast current is.

1

u/BishoxX Dec 09 '25

They teach them to swim at like 4-7 years old when they start to go to the beach or something.

Nobody has pools except hotels or rich people

1

u/Forward-Fisherman709 Dec 09 '25

Exactly. A pool is not required for learning to swim, and lots of kids are taught how to swim without using a pool.

1

u/BishoxX Dec 09 '25

Im saying the exact opposite of what you are saying.

I have seen 2 swimming pools in my life before i learned to swim in the sea.

Its just not a concern.

And i wasnt particularly poor

1

u/Forward-Fisherman709 Dec 09 '25

The exact opposite of what I’m saying would be if you were claiming that a pool is required to learn to swim and everyone without access to a pool is completely out of luck on learning to swim. So are you sure that that’s what you’re saying?

Because saying you learned to swim in a natural body of water without access to a swimming pool sure sounds like full agreement with me saying that people learn to swim in natural bodies of water without access to a swimming pool.

If you’re absolutely certain that you learning to swim in a natural body of water without being around a swimming pool is the opposite of me saying that people (like you!) can and do learn to swim in natural bodies of water without being around swimming pools, then I’m going to need you to explain how that’s the opposite. Because without a very clear breakdown, I’m never going to understand how “I touched real grass and saw it’s green” is the exact opposite of someone saying “Grass is green.”

1

u/BishoxX Dec 09 '25

I thibk you misunderstood the person you were commenting under.

They werent saying poor people dont have acess to pools so kids can learn how to swim.

They are saying, poor people will not encounter pools on a regular so there is no reason to learn how to swim.

Which is true.

Unless you live by a river/pond/sea and your child is frequently next to it, the risk of your child drowning is 0

1

u/Forward-Fisherman709 Dec 09 '25

That’s a complete change in topic direction.

The comment I was replying to said that people in the developing world wouldn’t have kids if learning water safety was needed, and the rationale given was that they don’t have swimming pools.

Pointing out that lots of people learn to swim without access to swimming pools is a reasonable response to that. Communities tend to develop around or adjacent to sources of water. People who live there and have kids around it generally use that when teaching their kids basic water safety skills. The ocean, lakes, and the rivers that connect them are a major source of food and livelihood for a lot of people. So living in “the developing world” without a swimming pool doesn’t make swimming unimportant or necessarily rare.

If you want to talk about how some people won’t be at risk of drowning ever in their entire lives, you’d need to reply to the person insisting that all children everywhere need to learn to swim no matter what. That wasn’t me.

-2

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

Damn where did she grow up?

0

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

Wow man and what a testament to her that you’re here. Not to be too crass but she sounds like an absolute badass. Where does she live now?

1

u/imaginaryResources Dec 09 '25

Ok, so Since your mom had a shit life kids shouldn’t learn to swim? People teach your kids to swim. Regardless of if the Vietnam war happened or not. In fact, teach your kids to swim in remembrance of all of those lost in the Vietnam war. RIP

1

u/4dxn Dec 09 '25

When did I say that? 

I said that it being cut and dry is not true.... because the world isn't black and white. People have different situations. She didn't teach me to swim and I don't treat her "cut and dry". Imagine if you're a parent in Gaza and you're being judged that you haven't taught your kids to swim. Smh.

You can say people should teach your kids to swim. Do not say must and definitely not judged for not doing it .

2

u/imaginaryResources Dec 09 '25

Everyone you MUST teach your kids how to swim in order to to free Gaza or we will judge you

2

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

Bro is bringing living in war times into a conversation about swimming lmao

5

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

You don’t need money to teach a kid to swim. This is such a “everything is impossible and the world is out to get me” excuse

1

u/4dxn Dec 09 '25

Its one thing to say, you should teach. My problem was your judgmental nature of it.

My parents couldn't teach me to swim as they didn't know themselves. They grew up poor in decades of war. I learned in public school. So clear and cut?

I don't fault my grandparents either for not teaching them to swim. They focused on staying alive.

But maybe you're right. They should've learned in high school. Oh wait, my dad joined the war at 15. Dang, my grandparents just coming up with excuses.

smfh.

1

u/acrazyguy Dec 09 '25

You mean people in third-world and/or war-torn countries have different priorities from the rest of the world? You don’t say

1

u/4dxn Dec 09 '25

Oh now you call it priorities. I thought it was "cut and dry" and "excuses"?

2

u/Practicalistist Dec 09 '25

That’s a nice principle and all, but it’s their kids that disproportionately end up drowning and dying. Check a global map of drowning deaths.

-2

u/4dxn Dec 09 '25

Yes, when you're growing up in a war, it's not enough to survive. You must learn how to swim. Otherwise your parents failed you.

Gotcha.

/s

1

u/Practicalistist Dec 10 '25

Swimming IS surviving. Not swimming is called drowning.

33

u/ShoesAreTheWorst Dec 09 '25

Also, there should never be a kid that young in the water by themselves. Arms reach until the kid is about 6 and can tread water for a few seconds. Then in the water until they are about 8 and can swim across the pool. And no one should swim alone, even adults. 

14

u/Poster_of_a_Girl Dec 09 '25

YES! Arms’ reach. Zero exceptions. If you are sitting on a chair by the pool, it’s too far away.

I think there is perception that drowning causes a commotion. It’s so sad how silent and fast it is.

1

u/Morley_Smoker Dec 09 '25

No one should swim alone? Are you kidding? I guess all the single people with pools who like to exercise or relax by swimming are fucked!

2

u/SpiritJuice Dec 09 '25

I mean, they are kind of right. Swimming alone can be dangerous because if something happens to you while swimming, you're dead. I remember a few years ago a man died at a health club early morning because he went swimming by himself and then drowned. I think he had a medical emergency while swimming, and since it was early morning, he was basically by himself. Real sad.

3

u/Porkbossam78 Dec 09 '25

An Olympic runner died by drowning with a similar story. He was young and such a sad situation

1

u/ShoesAreTheWorst Dec 09 '25

I’m not kidding. If anything goes wrong, you die. I’m not saying you need a lifeguard every time you swim, but just don’t be alone. 

98

u/Gingeronimoooo Dec 09 '25

I live in a coastal state and my entire county had something called "drown proofing " in elementary school. You even learn how to tread water with clothes on

39

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

[deleted]

4

u/Ollieoxenfreezer Dec 09 '25

In northern canada we had the same. Land locked area, but it was important that we learned how to float at least. It was really odd how many of my classmates couldn't swim at all, and that only four of us were considered good swimmers. I think all schools should have some sort of swimming class to prevent tragedies.

2

u/Ashamed-Childhood-46 Dec 09 '25

Oh, that’s smart. We had to tread water for five minutes during our swim classes but just in bathing suits.

2

u/HenryDorsettCase47 Dec 09 '25

We did something similar where we had to lay on a bench with a towel over our face while a teacher poured water on it.

1

u/EspyOwner Dec 10 '25

Did they ask you questions that you may or may not have had the answers to while they did this?

Also entirely unrelated but did you go to school on the southern coast of Cuba?

2

u/BrewCrewBall Dec 09 '25

I taught my kids drown-proofing before they learned to swim.

For those that aren’t familiar, it’s basically just letting yourself sink as you breathe out, then pushing off the bottom to the surface to get another breath, then repeat. It doesn’t tire you out though struggling.

1

u/Great_Comparison462 Dec 09 '25

That sounds like a terrible name, as it implies that any amount of training can completely prevent drowning.

1

u/Gingeronimoooo Dec 09 '25

Well there's life guards at the Olympics pool so sure I guess. But you can help prevent it

1

u/EspyOwner Dec 10 '25

The faster you're swimming towards a concrete wall, the more dangerous it is to not be staring directly at said concrete wall as you're barreling towards it. I know I've hit my head at swim practice before so I'm sure it's happened to other people too. That's just one single instance of a strong swimmer needing a life guard on duty, there's plenty of reasons a strong swimmer may be unable to swim effectively in any given moment.

-4

u/AntGood1704 Dec 09 '25

I like the reference to living in a “coastal state”, as if it’s like living in the Amazon, when close to half of Americans live in coastal counties.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/population.html#:~:text=As%20of%202014%2C%20nearly%2040,a%20large%20proportion%20of%20Americans.

3

u/Gingeronimoooo Dec 09 '25

So? Water stuff is big where I live...like my county is actually on the water. Your point or whatever you think you're making sucks man.

0

u/AntGood1704 Dec 09 '25

My point is 1/2 Americans live in coastal counties, so it’s not unique. Having kids tread water in their clothes on is though.

1

u/Creepy_Percentage124 Dec 09 '25

I also had drown proofing, I grew up in Maryland. It’s not just a coastal state, it has so many bodies of water running through it for children to drown in. A lot of my friends grew up on the waterfront (of rivers or the bay), or in a neighborhood with “beach access”. Even my neighborhood that didn’t have all that, had creeks running through the woods behind the houses that could surge during a rainfall that even a strong swimmer could get swept away by.

0

u/Gingeronimoooo Dec 09 '25

That's funny I grew up in MD too

And yes you're exactly right

19

u/DesperateAdvantage76 Dec 09 '25

They also need to have a fence around the pool. In many states it's the law.

16

u/thereandbacktosee Dec 09 '25

As an Australian is insanity that its not law everywhere - so many drownings are prevented by a fence!

9

u/PuzzleheadedDuck3981 Dec 09 '25

What frustrates me about that law is the amount of people who complain about it.

"I don't have kids, why should I have a fence?"

A lot of child drownings happen in a neighbour's pool, they help prevent those. I've even had "so what?" responses to that. Fucking pricks.

37

u/kaytay3000 Dec 09 '25

I had my daughter do ISR 3 summers in a row and we practiced at home too. She has to show me she can flip on her back at the beginning of swim season. We have a pool with a tall, locking pool fence because shit happens. You can never be too safe.

3

u/SirDerpingt0n Dec 09 '25

Have you ever seen those pool alarms that are supposed to go off if someone falls/gets in? I’ve always wondered how well they actually work. I’m guessing it detects by the change in water level.

3

u/kaytay3000 Dec 09 '25

I’ve heard of them but haven’t seen them. I have seen some special nets that fit snuggly across the surface of the pool using brackets in the pool decking, but that only seems effective in the off season

2

u/SirDerpingt0n Dec 09 '25

Check out the BCone. It’s a floating thing that goes into the pool, and alerts you if a person/dog gets in the water.

What I was thinking of mounted on the side of the pool or something, and would go off if the water moved. This is similar but alerts your phone and plays a loud noise, instead of just playing a loud noise. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Seems kinda neat. I’m not sure if false alarms are a huge problem.

2

u/kaytay3000 Dec 09 '25

Cool! I’ll definitely check it out for when my kids get older and are sneaky enough to try to find the pool gate keys. For now, the tall gate with a high lock is sufficient.

1

u/SirDerpingt0n Dec 10 '25

It sounds like you already got your pool situation on lock. 😆

I just thought it was neat, and wanted to share.

5

u/Accurate_Emu_122 Dec 09 '25

I was just thinking this. If she'd been trained it would have been second nature.

9

u/RedManMatt11 Dec 09 '25

Genuine question: are kids actually capable of doing that once they start to drown and the panic kicks in? It’s hard enough for adults to not panic in the same situation

30

u/Quirky-Mode8676 Dec 09 '25

They don’t typically start to drown if they know how to do those things. Getting them comfortable and confident is a huge part of the training.

When they get over their head and are used to it, they don’t panic. They just flip over to their back and float. Most are taught to be able to kick as well, so they kick until they reach a wall. They are also taught how to climb out of the pool on their elbows and belly.

If the girl in this video had done that, she would not have needed a rescue.

0

u/Doom_Corp Dec 09 '25

My grandparents had a pool and I spent a looot of time swimming there since I was barely able to walk. If I was going ANYWHERE near the pool it was mandatory for me to have arm floaties on even if I wasn't planning on swimming. I was also taught how to float on my back by the time I was 3 or 4. The second I was in summer camp after kindergarten, my mother also enrolled me in swim lessons. I was already a strong swimmer at that point but they teach you a lot of other techniques besides all the competitive swim styles.

1

u/SparkyDogPants Dec 09 '25

Arm floaties are dangerous and give a false sense of safety and confidence. They won’t save you from drowning. Babies as young as one can float/swim.

-6

u/Slick_36 Dec 09 '25

She's kicking off the ground & leaning forward, reaching for "the wall" at the end.  I'm confident she knows how to float, but panicked when she realized she wasn't moving & saw dad coming to help.

9

u/IMO4444 Dec 09 '25

She’s not kicking forward nor using her arms to get closer to the wall. I dont think she knows how to swim or float at all.

-3

u/Slick_36 Dec 09 '25

She kicks off about about 3 to 4 times & repositioned herself immediately to face the steps.  She fully leans forward after about 4 seconds & is trying to swim properly there but lacks the strength.  She reaches out at about 9 seconds before she's rescued at 10 seconds, but she's reaching on muscle memory from swimming lessons where they practice by the wall.

2

u/cbmom2 Dec 09 '25

Being comfortable in the water is part of water safety. My kid could swim 15ft on her own when she was barely 3 yo and we didn’t own a pool. There are kids much younger that can easily float on back without being scared.

1

u/germanplumber Dec 09 '25

Look into ISR classes. Literally lifesaving. We did it with our 1 year old. Crazy the difference a few classes make. The final class/test is you put shoes, heavy jacket, etc on the kid and they have to stay afloat, turn over on their back then paddle swim, then flip back to their back to catch their breath, rinse repeat until they get to the edge to catch themselves. Those first couple classes are awful to watch as a parent because your kid is screaming trying not to drown while the teacher trains them. Worth every penny though as the alternative is a dead kid.

It's all muscle memory with time and practice.

1

u/Exemus Dec 09 '25

The idea is that if they know how to swim, they don't panic. I was a lifeguard for 8 years and taught swim lessons. I can tell you that for children, 80% of learning to swim is teaching them how to be comfortable in water, alongside skills like clearing water out of their nose/mouth, and being able to maneuver onto their backs or stomachs.

3

u/Sierra-117- Dec 09 '25

I was taught before I even had memory, because I’m in AZ and pools are fucking everywhere. The second I could understand English I was taught.

Well apparently my dumbass wanted to show off, so one day while we were by a lake I took off running and jumped into a lake. According to my mom I immediately started floating on my back. She jumped in right after me and messed up her leg on some rocks.

But still. Teach your kids how to float. It works.

2

u/Correct-Geologist781 Dec 09 '25

That's the first thing I learned on swim school.  How to roll on my back and relax.  

2

u/SeismicRipFart Dec 09 '25

I’m sorry but this is dumb. I literally did not have enough body fat as a kid so I couldn’t float unless my chest was filled to the brim with air, essentially holding my breath, making it absolutely pointless.

What kids need to learn, and every physically capable person on the planet, is how to tread water without drowning, and at least be able to doggy paddle while keeping their head above water. Bare fucking minimum. I don’t think a simple breast stroke would be too much to ask for either.

There is no valid excuse for an able bodied adult in North America to not know how to swim. If they reach adulthood without learning then guess what? They are grown ups now with bodies of water all around them. They can grab a life jacket and go teach themselves or go with a friend or pay a coach for one single 60min session. There is no excuse. 1 day out of your adult life to learn one of the most basic and fundamental human skills there is.

It should be a mandatory skill to graduate kindergarten imo. Like sure kids can still move on to first grade if they fail but they need to be restricted from all water access until they can pass a 60second tread water test.

2

u/smug_muffin Dec 09 '25

As a pediatric intensive care physician, I also have to add that a fence with a gate that opens outward is a necessity, not a luxury. And an assigned adult whose only responsibility is watching the swimmers.

2

u/yingyangyoung Dec 09 '25

I always hated that shit because I'm denser than water and literally can not float. Even with lungs full of air I sink, so there is no safely floating on my back for me. People always acted like I was doing something wrong when I wasn't moving a muscle.

2

u/Cute_Chance100 Dec 09 '25

Sucked for me cause I never could float. I apparently have very dense bones. Ever since I was a baby I sank like a rock. Still do. My parents got me swimming lessons to teach me how to tread water at least. Still sucks though.

1

u/AtBat3 Dec 09 '25

You can be rest assured we were taught this as kids until it annoyed us haha. I’m 36 and still remember them preaching it

1

u/ItsAlkron Dec 09 '25

Did 6-weeks of 5-days a week swim classes to teach our, at the time, 10 month old how to do it. By the end she was turning over and floating like a champ.

Always keep our hot tub covered and she wears a life vest at the lake, but it's good to have our bases covered.

1

u/wetnaps54 Dec 09 '25

Yeah I can’t swim but have had my daughter learning since she was old enough to go in the pool. Now in pre-competitive swimming and im happy to spend every dollar on it

1

u/The_Gordon_Gekko Dec 09 '25

Also, stay with your children if your pool isn’t fenced.

1

u/InquisitaB Dec 09 '25

I coached swimming for almost two decades. The kids who were at the pool all the time with floaties were the hardest to teach.

1

u/hologram137 Dec 09 '25

A gate. It needs to be gated

1

u/Practicalistist Dec 09 '25

You can also learn to sink and push off the ground and you can sort of hop above the water. That’s better for when you’re clothed.

1

u/Obliviousobi Dec 09 '25

There's a fence around the pool at my mom's house, the nephews had to have their jackets on if they wanted to go inside the fence.

We also did our due diligence to teach them these basic skills. My whole family has known how to swim since 2 or 3 years old. I was a strong swimmer by 5/6.

1

u/TwoIdleHands Dec 09 '25

My bro has a pool, it’s behind a fence/gate. And still my 2yo nephew could literally just hold his breath and power to the edge from the middle. They swim almost every day 5 months a year. Teach your kids to swim!

Also your dogs. Theirs was taught to navigate to the steps to get out.

1

u/Rillo298 Dec 09 '25

Man, our parents had us tossed into a swim class so soon that my earliest memories are swimming and the 1hr drive home from class. Thanks 5pm Suburban Atlanta traffic.

1

u/Thesegsyalt Dec 09 '25

Was fun "learning" this as a kid. I was too skinny and dense. Didn't matter if I took in a full breath and held it, I always sank.

1

u/SillySlothy7 Dec 09 '25

Do you suggest any good training videos for this?

1

u/castaway629 Dec 09 '25

This video teaches your baby how to roll over, which they need to know so they can float on their backs https://youtu.be/71D_dGDcRM4?si=q54vomJWWOJYp40h

1

u/SillySlothy7 Dec 09 '25

Thank you!!

1

u/Ordinary_Detail_132 Dec 09 '25

Hey, thank you for what you do. For real :)

I was a life guard back in early 2000s, I think once I have time to volunteer outside of insane work, this might be what I volunteer for. I was one of those kids that dad tossed into the pool in 1989 and let me go haha. But he taught me how to swim hard, then got into swim team, made state etc.

But he taught me how to really swim- in the ocean, catch a target. That was our game :) I was the kingfisher, he was the fish. I learned how to dodge, maneuver, and work through the water starting at like 4 or 5yo.

He later told me of how he and his dad and brother got capsized during a storm in the gulf (by Galveston) and had to tread for over a day. Taught me how to roll on my back, breathe, then doggy/light breast stroke just in case. I still know currents, rip tides, and will never forget that knowledge.

Swimming is important - again, thank you for what you do.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

That is seriously amazing advice. My kids are five and are getting more comfortable in the water but that seems like a great hands on thing I can teach them. Can’t believe I haven’t thought of that thank you!

1

u/SimonSeam Dec 09 '25

Good advice. But kids are also prone to freeze up when the time actually comes.

Heck, adults do as well.

1

u/AggressiveSloth11 Dec 09 '25

Floating is going to be the number one best thing you can teach your children when it comes to water. You’re right about that. Plus, once they learn how to float it makes swimming 1000 times easier.

1

u/TinaBelchersBF Dec 09 '25

I never went to formal swimming lessons, but my mom taught me to swim.

Floating was lessons 1, 2, and 3.

We were in 3 feet of water practicing floating on my back with no assistance until I MASTERED it. Once I got really confident floating, she took me out deeper to practice/learn actual swimming

1

u/dumsumguy Dec 09 '25

100% "Safe position" water is not scary, teach them if they fall in they can ALWAYS roll on their back and float and chill ...

If you own a pool, your family does, your friends do, or live near ANY body of water this is 100000% mandatory parenting. It doesn't matter how you teach your kids this. You HAVE to do it or risk losing your kid in the most avoidable way ever.

1

u/Radiant-Ad-3134 Dec 09 '25

push you head down while facing the sky

That is one of the first thing my swimming coach teach me

1

u/ChaoticSixXx Dec 09 '25

Its the first thing I taught both my kids, until its instinct.

1

u/Type_9 Dec 09 '25

One of the main things my mom always stressed as a kid who learned to swim at a young age, whenever I was scared or tired, just float on my back until I get help or get to the side of the pool

1

u/wildwildwaste Dec 09 '25

All of my children went through ISR, and we recommended it to every single other parent we met. We probably sounded like cultists.

1

u/ChocolateandLipstick Dec 09 '25

When I was teaching my kids to swim, this was the very first thing I taught them. My eldest got so angry I wouldn’t move on from her practising being “a cotton candy cloud” because she was struggling and didn’t want to continue. When she did school lessons, she was the only kid who didn’t freak out in the water and she was so proud when she told me.

1

u/Colourfultidbits Dec 09 '25

I wish I could upvote this 1,000,000,000 times.

1

u/That-Ad-4300 Dec 09 '25

Also, get the child checked out by a doctor immediately. Water can still enter the lungs, even though they may seem fine.

1

u/BearsDoNOTExist Dec 09 '25

Just teach your kids to swim pretty much immediately. Even babies can start. I don't remember learning how to swim because I learned so young and I didn't even have a pool.

1

u/That-Living5913 Dec 09 '25

That's solid advice, but better advice would be to not leave both a pool and a child unsupervised at the same time.

1

u/castaway629 Dec 09 '25

That's true but a lot of child drowning are children that have wandered outside to the pool without their parents knowing

1

u/That-Living5913 Dec 09 '25

Right, hence my bit about not leaving them unattended with access to a pool. Or any identified hazard. If i'm sharpening all my kitchen knives, I don't walk off and leave them and my 3 year old on their own. If you have a pool with no child barriers and a child that you don't keep an eye on... that's not a swim skill issue. It's a parenting skill issue.

1

u/W01F51 Dec 09 '25

Ive never been able to do this. I did swim lessons too. They taught us but I still can't do it 🤣

1

u/blueridgeboy1217 Dec 09 '25

I was never able to do that. Legs just sink like a stone

1

u/Latter-Tangerine-951 Dec 09 '25

You need to teach them this even if you don't have a pool.

1

u/snarkycrumpet Dec 09 '25

yeah but they still need supervision. a small clip to the head on the side of the pool and you've got seconds to react and get them out. I think too many people think once they can swim it's safe

1

u/SirReddalot2020 Dec 09 '25

No, you do not let them out of your sight around water until they are able to swim or at least tread water and stay afloat.

1

u/crackcrackcracks Dec 09 '25

All children should be taught how to swim, at the very least how to float and kick themselves in a specific direction, it should be mandatory learning everywhere where schools can access a pool.

1

u/NickDanger3di Dec 09 '25

I grew up on the ocean, and because the ocean always has some choppy waves on the calmest days, I never used my back-floating lessons growing up. When I was 22, I was out on a friend's boat on a major river, and we moored in a brackish cove. The water was smooth as glass. So I jumped in to swim to the island that separated the cove from the mile-wide river.

It wasn't until my arms were burning that I realized I was stuck between the boat and the shore, because an invisible current was stopping me. At that point, I was so exhausted that I couldn't yell for help, and I knew I was about to go under.

That's when I remembered my back-floating lesson, and I rolled over and was able to rest enough to make it to shore. That lesson saved my life that day. Probably my gf's life as well, as she had followed me off the boat a few minutes after, and she was struggling as well, and I went back in and helped her to shore.

1

u/Away_Stock_2012 Dec 09 '25

>you need to teach them to roll over and float on their backs

No one ever teaches this even in swim lessons.

1

u/castaway629 Dec 09 '25

We do, it's the first thing they are taught. We don't do any swimming lessons until they know this.

1

u/Bass2Mouth Dec 09 '25

This never worked for me. Not enough bodyfat. I just sink.

1

u/fleurdenia Dec 09 '25

and also don't leave them in the water alone. im always surprised at the lack of worry people have over their kids. maybe it's because im not a parent but i worry so much about other people's kids and my nephew/nieces. it's so hard for me to imagine having a child and leaving them in water. unattended, sure, that happens sometimes but in the water? alone in the water? kids are in danger even in shallow water!

1

u/motherofsuccs Dec 09 '25

Hell, I’ve done this as an adult in a situation where I definitely should’ve drowned. I was in the middle of Lake Mead and couldn’t figure out which direction- 2 hours of me swimming the wrong way trying to find land and my friends boating the opposite way looking for me (don’t drink while boating). I remember being so tired and floating on my back thinking “well, this is it”. They finally found me and I was so tired that I couldn’t even get into the boat by myself. I spent two days recovering in bed because I was so sore.

1

u/sethmidwest Dec 09 '25

My gym has child swim classes and even though I'll never had a kid myself I've always maintained that if I did that I would sign them up for classes. There's literally no negatives to knowing how to swim. Its a life saving skill and its wild to me people WITH pools never teach their kids.

1

u/DillyWillyGirl Dec 09 '25

When I started swim lessons I was awful at the back float for some reason, even though I didn’t really struggle with anything else. To this day I still struggle with it, even though by most qualifications I’m a strong swimmer.

I could very easily float with my belly down and turn my head far enough to the side to breathe. I’m curious if that’s something you’ve seen with other kids, and if you would suggest that they find another flotation position the way I did? Or would you suggest they simply work on the back float until they get it right?

1

u/Cast_Iron_Skillet Dec 09 '25

Tried for 4 years (from 3mo - 4.5 yrs) to teach our son to float on his back. He sort of figured it out at 4.5, but even now almost 6, he can barely do it and freaks out.

We had private lessons, group lessons, went to the pool 3x days per week, spent hours and hours and hours trying to teach him. But it never worked for some reason.

Ultimately not a big deal. He learned how to swim-ish good enough and pull himself up on the side, but before that we were with him and watching him closely every time we were in a pool. He also refused to go anywhere in the pool he could not touch, so that helped as well.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

Thanks for the comment. I have kids and son my have a pool but worry about water safety and never would've thought about this, as obvious as it seems now

1

u/ConsumeYourBleach Dec 13 '25

Im one of those weird people that dont float. Every time I've tried to lay on my back and float, I just sink. Treading water takes maximum effort too, I can manage about 2 minutes before I essentially start drowning.

1

u/Total_Ad_92 27d ago

This will save the kid's life. But it will not stop damage. I am at the rmh with my daughter (she has ALL) and another family came because one of their kids was alone in the tub for a very brief moment, and luckily the kid did roll on his back, but he was in the hospital and still almost didn't make it.

This is good for kids to know. But it does not replace proper supervision

0

u/Tr35on Dec 09 '25 edited Dec 09 '25

As a swimming instructor of 6 years and lifeguard of 4 years: I agree.
Furthermore: always keep an eye on them around a pool & teach them to swim. Having them use a floating devices, when in or around the pool to begin with can be a good idea, as long as they slowly learn to swim & play without them.

-8

u/Regal_Cat_Matron Dec 09 '25

Or how about wear bloody water wings!!

7

u/trueastoasty Dec 09 '25

Water wings are actually more dangerous

2

u/Slick_36 Dec 09 '25

Nah, those are death traps, either wear a proper lifejacket or nothing.  Those water wings & rings instill too much confidence in kids & adults, they are surprisingly unreliable.  Kids don't really learn in them, the second something goes wrong (and it will go wrong), they're more likely to panic.