Parents want swimming to be part of school curriculum
CALL TO MAKE CURRICULUM CHANGE FOLLOWS DROWNING OF 4 BOYS IN ABU DHABI RECENTLY
It’s time to make swimming lessons and water safety a mandatory part of the school curriculum to prevent child deaths due to drowning, some parents and advocates said.
Their reaction came following the deaths of four boys who drowned in a pond on a farm in Abu Dhabi last Sunday.
Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It claims more than 1,000 lives a day or an estimated 372,000 people worldwide each year.
WHO says children, males and individuals with increased access to water are most at risk. Globally, children aged one to four years are the most prone to drowning, followed by children between five and nine years.
While the UAE has the 43rd lowest drowning rate in the world, according to World Health Rankings, drownings can still be prevented if adults and children know the basics of water safety, some parents and advocates said.
This is supported by WHO’s May 2017 report on Preventing Drowning: An Implementation
Guide that recommends schoolage children to be taught swimming and water safety.
Taghred Chandab, a Dubaibased award-winning Australian author, who just recently learnt how to swim as an adult, agreed with the recommendation considering the open beaches and vast number of pools in the UAE.
“I’m a big advocate of children learning to swim because I didn’t know how to swim as a child. It’s not just about learning to swim and making swimming mandatory for children, it’s also important to learn pool safety,” Chandab, who almost drowned when she was eight, said.
When she became a mum, Chandab ensured that her kids learnt how to swim. Her three older daughters, aged 12, 10 and nine, are strong swimmers. They started swimming lessons before they turned two. Chandab’s youngest daughter, now 18 months old, is learning how to swim, too.
“Obviously, we will never be able to prevent situations [drowning] from happening but we can help create a preventive method.”
Another parent, Jeff Ramos, a Filipino accountant based in Dubai, said he enrolled his sixyear-old daughter in swimming lessons not just for health reasons but also for her own safety.
“Swimming boosts children’s immune system, helps develop their competitive spirit, and also will be helpful in unfortunate incidents or emergencies.
“If she knows how to swim, she’ll have an idea what to do in water-related emergencies,” Ramos said.
Teaching basic water safety in schools can save lives, Sarah Sutherland, director of Absolute Sports Services who has been a swimming coach for 12 years, said.
“Schools can do their part. It’s crucial from a very young age, as soon as children can walk, can crawl; it’s so important to teach them how to save themselves in case they are in the water, to get on their back and float, keep their airways open and keep their head above water, and be able to paddle and kick back,” said Sutherland, who is from the UK where swimming is part of the national curriculum.
Most countries in the European Union include swimming as part of the central curriculum in the primary and/ or lower secondary education. In 2015, Bangladesh also made swimming compulsory in schools to reduce deaths due to drowning.
If swimming cannot be made mandatory in schools, parents can voluntarily enrol their kids in swimming lessons.
They can also opt for group lessons to split the cost. Or better, if they know how to swim, they can teach their children themselves, Lalaine Bautista, a swimming coach with Super Sports in Dubai, said.
But the most important aspect, Chandab said, is constant adult supervision, especially when children are near any body of water.