Every summer, swimming classes become more crowded when many parents proactively send their children to school early. After the water accidents that have occurred recently, many families have started to take swimming lessons more seriously.
Ms. Nguyen Ha Phuong - a teacher at a swimming pool in Hanoi - said that currently most parents consider swimming as a necessary skill for children to protect themselves when exposed to the water environment.
This summer, many parents register their children to study earlier than before. What they care about is no longer whether their children swim fast or beautifully, but whether their children know how to float on their own, stay calm and handle unexpected situations underwater or not," Ms. Phuong shared.
According to swimming teachers, many parents still think that as long as children know how to swim, they can be safe underwater.
The biggest misunderstanding of many parents today is thinking that knowing how to swim will not be dangerous. However, in reality, many children are still easily panicked when encountering unexpected situations such as running over, choking on water or falling into strange water environments," Ms. Phuong said.
Ms. Phuong also said that many children, even if they can swim, are still prone to danger due to lack of practical situation handling skills.
Many children swim well in the pool, but when they go down to ponds, lakes or the sea, they easily lose their composure because the actual environment is completely different from the swimming pool," Ms. Phuong said.
In addition to basic swimming techniques, children need to learn more floating skills, keeping breathing, recognizing dangers and how to handle water choking or missing legs.
Some parents think that their children already know how to swim, so they can play in the water themselves without regular observation or completely assign the monitoring to teachers and rescuers," Ms. Phuong emphasized.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Ho Minh Thuan - Freestyle Swimming Coach in Hanoi - said that many families today are quite anxious and expect their children to quickly learn to swim to feel more secure in the summer.
Many parents think that just studying a few sessions can help their children protect themselves, but water safety skills need regular practice to form reflexes," said Mr. Thuan.
Coach Minh Thuan also said that the most lacking skill for young people today is the ability to stay calm when encountering problems.
Many children, when panicked, often struggle and lose control, so they lose strength faster and are more likely to be in danger," he said.
In addition, the subjectivity of adults is also a noteworthy issue. Coach Thuan also said that parents need to teach children water safety knowledge, remind children not to go into the water without adults accompanying them, and limit playing excessively in the swimming area.
Even if children know how to swim, they still need to be accompanied and observed by adults when near water," the coach shared.
