It's a bit of a class thing since you need to either have physical access to a swimmable body of water or have economic access to a pool and then have the free time to either teach your kids yourself or the money and free time to drop them off at swim lessons.
In the US, black Americans are the most likely to not know how to swim and poor Americans in general are more likely to not know how.
i live in a dry place, there ain't swimming depth bodies of water that aren't artificial, and you've got to pay to swim at most of them. our rivers are pathetic and an adult would be hard pressed to drown in one so it's also mostly useless to learn unless it's for recreation
I never got a grasp of how to breathe for front crawl, because it is tiring and I always needed more air than I could get in between arm strokes. Maybe if I had better technique so I was less out of breath, then I wouldn't need as much air and I'd figure it out, but whatever.
Swimming is pretty hard and tiring if you aren't using proper form and trying to streamline yourself. If you can only swim 10m until you get tired then that's basically the same as not knowing how to swim.
If I lived near a community pool maybe I'd try and learn/practice during lane swim times, but I don't and gyms with pools are too expensive monthly.
If I can only swim a few metres before stopping, then I drown when I stop, then I can't swim.
If I'm terrible at running, I can just stop and not have my lungs fill up with water.
That's a pretty big difference. If you get chucked into the middle of an Olympic pool and aren't 100% sure you could get out, then I'd say you can't swim.
Usually when you talk about being able to swim it's about safety in aquatic activities. My grandpa almost died swimming in a small river without much current because he wasn't that good at swimming. He didn't die, but because it was that close I'd say he didn't know how to swim.
You wouldn't say you can ride a bike if you fall after a few metres.
Different activities have different contexts for what "being able to do it" means.
If I said I can't drive, that means I have no license and probably think there's too high of a chance of something going wrong if I drove. That doesn't mean that idk how to steer, hit the gas, or brake.
If I said I can't walk that means I'm paralyzed.
Swimming is somewhere in between those two on the spectrum of "what does it mean when I say I can't".
I'd say that I am currently a bad/weak swimmer because I had some independent practice recently, but there was definitely a time where I'd say I didn't know how to swim even though I had taken lessons at that point.
If you lack exposure to the water. It doesn't come perfectly naturally, especially if you are a bit older and have developed a fear. It's definitely easier to learn if you're younger.
I learned to swim before I have memory but imagine it’s due to panicking or not knowing how to float efficiently meaning you tire out fast and take big gulps of water.
Why would anyone drown if swimming was that easy? It's like riding a bike: trivial and instinctive for those who know, but dangerous and complicated for those who don't.
That's like saying "whistling is easy, just put your lips together and blow." Though it is easy, that's only if you already know how to move your body in the right ways. Some people can intuit the motions without guidance but I'm telling you that it's far from everyone.
Also unlike whistling or biking, if you mess up swimming you die. Even in a shallow pool.
I don't know why you keep insisting that children know how to swim instinctively. No they don't. In the US, drowning is the leading cause of death for kids age 1-4 and the #2 leading cause for kids age 5-14 (#1 is car crashes). I don't know what else to say so I'll just leave it at that.
Oh fair, that is the first time you mentioned kids specifically. You've said/implied that it was simple and natural in every comment though so it was that attitude that I wanted to address.
If you want anecdotal evidence then here's this: I cannot swim and neither can anyone in my family. I don't mean we can't swim long distances or that we can't swim skillfully, I mean that we cannot swim or float whatsoever. I nearly died one time when we visited the community pools because I didn't expect the slide to plunge me downwards into the water. I got out by aimlessly flailing forward and getting lucky. And no that wasn't really swimming, it was more like walking on the floor while holding my breath as best I could. Also the lifeguard didn't notice.
At the pools, we always stay in the shallow areas that's waist deep. And the few times we've gone to the beach, we don't go further into the water than to get our feet wet. There are no other opportunities for us to swim here and even those 2 cost money. I hope you understand why it's unlikely for people in our situation to learn how to swim. Like, why take time out of my schedule to pay for something that I can't do, that my friends and family can't do, and that can potentially kill me?
For the record I brought up whistling because it's a skill that many people don't have. I've been able to whistle since I could speak and so could my parents, but it would be stupid for me to conclude that whistling is an innate human skill that all people know how to do. Likewise, some people just can't figure out swimming by themselves. The proper movement of their bodies does not come naturally and that's that.
I didn't really get a proper grasp on anything but the backstroke until I took adult swimming classes in my 20s.
It doesn't help that not knowing how to swim doesn't stop gym class from forcing you to participate. I drank a lot of chlorine during 2 weeks each year.
And it's wild, I was an avid distance runner, biker, and tree/rock climber. Swimming just didn't click for me for some reason.
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It's a bit of a class thing since you need to either have physical access to a swimmable body of water or have economic access to a pool and then have the free time to either teach your kids yourself or the money and free time to drop them off at swim lessons.
In the US, black Americans are the most likely to not know how to swim and poor Americans in general are more likely to not know how.
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i live in a dry place, there ain't swimming depth bodies of water that aren't artificial, and you've got to pay to swim at most of them. our rivers are pathetic and an adult would be hard pressed to drown in one so it's also mostly useless to learn unless it's for recreation
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Pollution.
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is this a serious comment
I never got a grasp of how to breathe for front crawl, because it is tiring and I always needed more air than I could get in between arm strokes. Maybe if I had better technique so I was less out of breath, then I wouldn't need as much air and I'd figure it out, but whatever.
Swimming is pretty hard and tiring if you aren't using proper form and trying to streamline yourself. If you can only swim 10m until you get tired then that's basically the same as not knowing how to swim.
If I lived near a community pool maybe I'd try and learn/practice during lane swim times, but I don't and gyms with pools are too expensive monthly.
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If I can only swim a few metres before stopping, then I drown when I stop, then I can't swim.
If I'm terrible at running, I can just stop and not have my lungs fill up with water.
That's a pretty big difference. If you get chucked into the middle of an Olympic pool and aren't 100% sure you could get out, then I'd say you can't swim.
Usually when you talk about being able to swim it's about safety in aquatic activities. My grandpa almost died swimming in a small river without much current because he wasn't that good at swimming. He didn't die, but because it was that close I'd say he didn't know how to swim.
You wouldn't say you can ride a bike if you fall after a few metres.
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Different activities have different contexts for what "being able to do it" means.
If I said I can't drive, that means I have no license and probably think there's too high of a chance of something going wrong if I drove. That doesn't mean that idk how to steer, hit the gas, or brake.
If I said I can't walk that means I'm paralyzed.
Swimming is somewhere in between those two on the spectrum of "what does it mean when I say I can't".
I'd say that I am currently a bad/weak swimmer because I had some independent practice recently, but there was definitely a time where I'd say I didn't know how to swim even though I had taken lessons at that point.
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Go try to tread water for 5 minutes. It's absolutely exhausting
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I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
If you lack exposure to the water. It doesn't come perfectly naturally, especially if you are a bit older and have developed a fear. It's definitely easier to learn if you're younger.
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I learned to swim before I have memory but imagine it’s due to panicking or not knowing how to float efficiently meaning you tire out fast and take big gulps of water.
Probably not dressed for swimming either. Shoes and draggy clothing definitely don't help!
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Why would anyone drown if swimming was that easy? It's like riding a bike: trivial and instinctive for those who know, but dangerous and complicated for those who don't.
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That's like saying "whistling is easy, just put your lips together and blow." Though it is easy, that's only if you already know how to move your body in the right ways. Some people can intuit the motions without guidance but I'm telling you that it's far from everyone.
Also unlike whistling or biking, if you mess up swimming you die. Even in a shallow pool.
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I don't know why you keep insisting that children know how to swim instinctively. No they don't. In the US, drowning is the leading cause of death for kids age 1-4 and the #2 leading cause for kids age 5-14 (#1 is car crashes). I don't know what else to say so I'll just leave it at that.
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Oh fair, that is the first time you mentioned kids specifically. You've said/implied that it was simple and natural in every comment though so it was that attitude that I wanted to address.
If you want anecdotal evidence then here's this: I cannot swim and neither can anyone in my family. I don't mean we can't swim long distances or that we can't swim skillfully, I mean that we cannot swim or float whatsoever. I nearly died one time when we visited the community pools because I didn't expect the slide to plunge me downwards into the water. I got out by aimlessly flailing forward and getting lucky. And no that wasn't really swimming, it was more like walking on the floor while holding my breath as best I could. Also the lifeguard didn't notice.
At the pools, we always stay in the shallow areas that's waist deep. And the few times we've gone to the beach, we don't go further into the water than to get our feet wet. There are no other opportunities for us to swim here and even those 2 cost money. I hope you understand why it's unlikely for people in our situation to learn how to swim. Like, why take time out of my schedule to pay for something that I can't do, that my friends and family can't do, and that can potentially kill me?
For the record I brought up whistling because it's a skill that many people don't have. I've been able to whistle since I could speak and so could my parents, but it would be stupid for me to conclude that whistling is an innate human skill that all people know how to do. Likewise, some people just can't figure out swimming by themselves. The proper movement of their bodies does not come naturally and that's that.
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I can only guess that people panic
I didn't really get a proper grasp on anything but the backstroke until I took adult swimming classes in my 20s.
It doesn't help that not knowing how to swim doesn't stop gym class from forcing you to participate. I drank a lot of chlorine during 2 weeks each year.
And it's wild, I was an avid distance runner, biker, and tree/rock climber. Swimming just didn't click for me for some reason.
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Thank you for this thread - I have had the same bafflement and the exchanges below were enlightening.
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