Sink or Swim

Literally. Sink or Swim.
Last week, I attended a pool party. There were a lot of kids in attendance and everyone was having a good time. A great time, actually, until a child who had been on a raft in the pool accidentally fell off and into the water - the deep end. All the parents looked up to see what had created the large splash and saw a child struggling to stay afloat. His nose and mouth were submerged and arms were flailing. It seemed like an eternity passed, but the owner of the pool jumped in and saved him within seconds. The child was scared and embarrassed but was fine. It was one of those truly frightening moments that seem to replay over and over in your head and makes you think, "what if?"

I have really strong feelings about this, so bear with me.
PLEASE teach your kids how to swim!!!!! And if they cannot swim yet, please keep them out of the water if you are not going in, as well. In the least, put some floatation devices on them. And regardless of whether they can swim or not, keep an eye on them! Keep half an eye on other children in the pool, too, just in case their mothers are chasing around their siblings.

I've always felt that swimming is a life skill. I equate it to learning how to tie your shoes and reading. Can't ride a bike? Fine. Never learned the Dewey Decimal System? Peachy. Can't swim? Take some lessons. I will expect each of my kids to learn how to swim like I expect them to learn how to read. I will push each of my kids to learn how to swim WELL, tiger mom style. I'm sure others feel differently, but I'm pretty sure the mom of the kid who almost drowned will think twice about letting him go to the next pool party.