Dog Paddle

People are drowning all over the place in Minnesota this year. Maybe it’s because we have too many lakes and people keep falling into them.

Some of the drownings are truly accidents, for example, when someone falls out of the boat, maybe hitting their head or something, and slipping into the water.

But a lot of the drownings seem to be children who either haven’t learned how to swim or over-estimate their ability to swim.

I heard on the news that a majority of kids in urban areas do not learn how to swim with the correct technique.

That’s true, I think. For a lot of urban families, swimming is just not on the radar. Lessons are expensive. If your parents don’t swim, well, they’re not going to take you to swim anywhere, so you’re unable to practice.

You go to the pool or a lake and try to make do with the dog paddle. Then your swimming friends swim out to a raft and you go along, barely making it. You don’t want to be called a wussy and have to sit on shore or hang out in the shallow water with the babies while your friends are out in the deep water having fun.

Then you have to make the long swim back. And your dog paddle is sapping all your strength and before you know it, you’re slipping under the water . . .

I grew up in a white middle class “Leave it to Beaver” neighborhood. There was a lake with a nice beach a mile away from my home. For two weeks every summer until I was 12 years old, I rode my bike up to the beach for swimming lessons. And, no, my mom didn’t come with me. Kids growing up in the 60s were way more independent than kids are now.

When I was 12, I took and passed Junior Lifesaving, and could have been a lifeguard if I completed the Senior Lifesaving course.

But I didn’t. However, I did learn how to swim several different strokes; I built up my endurance by treading water for several minutes and swimming long distances. I learned how to rescue someone who is drowning. I learned CPR. I learned how to turn over and get back in a capsized canoe.

Learning to swim was part of being a kid for me.

My parents added a pool in their backyard right before my son was born. After he was born, it was a requirement that he learn how to swim. It’s so easy for a kid to fall into a pool and have no idea how to get out.

My son learned to swim as a baby. He was about a year and half old when he started swimming lessons at the University of Minnesota (I was a student and got a discount!). The instructor just had us shove them underwater and by golly, those little babies were just like tadpoles, swimming with their eyes wide up. They automatically hold their breath. Asher swam underwater like a little fish.

He continued his lessons at the YWCA. He was diving off a board by the time he was three years old. He was a great swimmer. And still is.

And his kids know how to swim. They have endurance and confidence in their ability to swim.

I think swimming is one of those basic kid skills, like learning how to ride a bike or rollerskating.

But back to my parents’ pool. They were very generous with it, allowing neighbors to use it; however, the parents had to accompany the kids. My parents weren’t babysitters.

And if a kid wanted to go in the deep water of the pool, they had to prove to my parents that they could swim. If they couldn’t, then they had to stay on the shallow side of the pool. The areas were divided by a rope.

But in spite of the work and the worry, my parents’ pool provided our family hours of fun for many years. Fortunately, there were no accidents.

I think some school districts are planning to include swimming lessons in their phy ed programs. I sure hope so.

Even though we have short summers in Minnesota, we play hard while the weather is warm. And that includes swimming. Every kid (and adult) should know the basics of swimming.