"Father, let me go swimming in the rain, I beg you. It's been a long time since I've been showered. I promised that this was the last time, we would not bathe anymore, and we would not ask for it anymore. Go, beautiful. It's been a long time since I've been able to shower. Go where your father loves you".
I was stunned to read these messages. That was the last message from an 11-year-old girl in Bien Hoa, Dong Nai. He drowned and passed away while swimming in a stream with us and slipped on the afternoon of May 24, 2025. Those innocent and innocent messages have now become a deep curse in the father's heart, not only because of his daughter's sudden passing, but also because the father himself agreed to let her go to the bathroom.
In Vietnam, an average year of 2,000 cases of children drowned, especially in the summer. Dr. Nguyen Thi Loan of the Vietnam Youth Academy said: “The cause of the child's death due to drowning is too much. The main reason is that the family's management and education is still loose, parents have not kept many children with children, not deterrent, warn children to know the natural water environment swimming is dangerous; the locality of children living in the lack of swimming, swimming centers, and the number of swimming centers ... The child drowned increasing day by day, which is: rivers, ponds, lakes ... still lacking tables, signs of "banned bath", "deep water - danger - ban on bathing".
To limit and prevent tragic drowning incidents for children, it is necessary for authorities and local authorities to urge individuals and groups that are the owners of ponds, lakes, lagoons, breaches, canals, irrigation lakes, etc. to put up signs and signs with "banana" content to remind and warn people in general and children in particular.
How to limit and prevent tragic drowning incidents in children? That is a vital question. Popularizing swimming for students is considered an important solution to prevent drowning in children. In 2022, the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches, provincial and municipal authorities to focus on directing and implementing tasks synchronously and drastically, including the popularization of swimming. However, up to now, the goal of popularizing swimming for children still has many obstacles.
Some data released by the Ministry of Education and Training not long ago: Currently, only 9 - 10% of schools have swimming pools. The reason is that schools with funding conditions do not have a site; schools with a site do not have enough funding. The team of physical education teachers is still lacking, especially at the primary level. A large number of physical education teachers have not been trained, granted swimming certificates and safety skills in the water environment to students.
It is undeniable that efforts to limit child drowning have been made recently, but the number of 2,000 deaths each year is too large.
To keep children safe is the responsibility of adults and the whole society.
