If your kid can't swim...

[swimmermom3]

If your kid can't swim, please do not sign them up for activities like sailing camps or high school sailing programs. A pfd is not a replacement for the skill and frankly, non-swimmers are a safety hazard for everyone else.

 

Your kid is not the exception.

[abba12]

As an Australian, I can't even comprehend a high schooler not being able to swim. It just.... doesn't happen here, at least not where I live. Ever. Kids in public school take compulsory swimming lessons two terms a year. Homeschool kids usually have access to a pool or dam or something and we have homeschool swimming classes in some areas catering to the kids who dont do it through their school. 

 

When my swim class at public school was scheduled for the middle of the day and I couldn't attend (I have albinism and sunscreen only helped so much)  they wouldnt even let me back out, they just put me in with the first graders lesson first thing in the morning. 

 

How are children going to high school not learning a very basic, vital skill like swimming?

[SparklyUnicorn]

As a mother with non swimming water in face phobic kids, I could not agree more!

 

I would worry about their safety!!

 

 

[kewb]

I made sure mine knew how to swim because it is life skill but I hve known plenty of adults in my life who never learned.

[Daria]

Why isn't a requirement to join? Here crew (our only high school boat sport) makes you take a test.

[SKL]

I wonder how many US schools have pools.  I never attended a school that had a pool or a swim team.

 

Luckily, I live about a mile away from our city's rec center and I can afford the annual membership fee and swim lessons.

 

When I was a kid, I taught myself to swim (not well) by walking with sibs / friends to the public pools in the summer time.  Nowadays, kids can't go to the pool without a parent and a membership - except through paid summer camp.  So pretty much, you have to have money to learn to swim.

 

The neighboring city closed all of its pools this summer because of budget issues.

 

It doesn't surprise me that a lot of people don't know how to swim.

[Acorn]

As an Australian, I can't even comprehend a high schooler not being able to swim. It just.... doesn't happen here, at least not where I live. Ever. Kids in public school take compulsory swimming lessons two terms a year. Homeschool kids usually have access to a pool or dam or something and we have homeschool swimming classes in some areas catering to the kids who dont do it through their school.

 

When my swim class at public school was scheduled for the middle of the day and I couldn't attend (I have albinism and sunscreen only helped so much) they wouldnt even let me back out, they just put me in with the first graders lesson first thing in the morning.

 

How are children going to high school not learning a very basic, vital skill like swimming?

I think that's great that lesson are available. Here in the Midwest U S, lessons are expensive and never conveniently scheduled.

 

I have also admired Australia's ability to let kids use sunscreen. It would take a doctor note here.

[swimmermom3]

As an Australian, I can't even comprehend a high schooler not being able to swim. It just.... doesn't happen here, at least not where I live. Ever. Kids in public school take compulsory swimming lessons two terms a year. Homeschool kids usually have access to a pool or dam or something and we have homeschool swimming classes in some areas catering to the kids who dont do it through their school. 

 

When my swim class at public school was scheduled for the middle of the day and I couldn't attend (I have albinism and sunscreen only helped so much)  they wouldnt even let me back out, they just put me in with the first graders lesson first thing in the morning. 

 

How are children going to high school not learning a very basic, vital skill like swimming?

 

I get that not everyone likes to swim or wants to swim, but I do not get proceeding to put them in a water sport. In the past couple of years, we've seen a huge surge in non-swimmers at the club.  This is on a good-sized river with traffic.  They do have to take a swim test, but not all instructors are careful about assessing the situation. My ds is one of the few actual lifeguards and the whole thing makes him crazy. 

 

For our high school program, you don't have to know how to sail, but you do need to know how to swim.  One of our experienced sailors was out with a new sailor in high wind. They capsized and it turned out the new sailor could not swim and had a complete panic attack. It's hard to upright a double-handed boat in high wind single-handedly while avoiding being pulled down by a panicking non-sailor. The club and coach certainly could have prevented this from happening, but I still don't get why anyone would choose to endanger their own child.

 

Sorry, but this really gets me. A friend who runs a sailing program in another city recently had a woman be really irked at getting kicked out of the sailing program because she couldn't swim.  Apparently, she kayaks and well, "that's what life jackets are for."  Where are peoples heads?

 

[swimmermom3]

I didn't realize about the inaccessibility of swim lessons. They are usually available through our parks and rec district and scholarships are available. I think my beef is more with the idea of not having the skill, but still signing them up for sailing. Would you send a kid on an overnight backpacking trip who had never been hiking?

[Farrar]

I've seen kids who can swim fine capsize their canoes and have a panic attack from the shock and need to be retrieved because they can't get it together to swim to shore. I guess I do think life jackets are partially there for the panic attacks.

 

But it's crazy to me that anyone would sign a kid up for sailing who can't swim.

 

It's also crazy to me that there are so many kids who can't swim, though I know there are factors for that. I'm always glad that my city has free pools and extremely inexpensive lessons and outreach, in part because they want to help prevent drownings. There was a kid at the pool yesterday who I saw couldn't pass the swim test (just back and forth once) so he could go off the board. The lifeguard manager took time to go over and talk to him for little while and then got his father over and explained what he needed to do to help his kid learn to do more than tread water for a minute (which was basically all the kid could do).

[SparklyUnicorn]

Would you send a kid on an overnight backpacking trip who had never been hiking?

 

Not my kid.  LOL

[abba12]

I think that's great that lesson are available. Here in the Midwest U S, lessons are expensive and never conveniently scheduled.

 

I have also admired Australia's ability to let kids use sunscreen. It would take a doctor note here.

 

A doctors note to use sunscreen?

We never bothered for lunchbreak (recess) but refusing to apply it for sports day or swimming carnival or something was just not done, the teacher walked around with the big bottle, and if you didnt use the big bottle you had to show your personal sunscreen was put on (I used a special one). It wasn't even a question. You needed a doctors note to exclude you!

 

So, american schools don't have swimming lessons then? Not all schools have a pool, in fact very few do, but during the hotter half of the year once a week we all got on busses, or walked (I attended multple public schools inbetween stints of homeschooling), to the local community pool. One class at a time staggered through the whole day. There was a cost involved but it was negligible, probably around $5-$10 a lesson because our actual classroom teachers were involved in teaching the swim lessons, so less official swim teachers needed, and school events like swimming carnival were free. 

 

Not liking water on the face wasn't an option. Everyone else was doing it. The teachers weren't MEAN about it, but consistently encouraging it and seeing other kids doing it. Having been grouped with the first graders that one year I mentioned, some of them hated water and wouldn't move off the pool edge at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year they could all at least doggy paddle if nothing else, and they could all hold breath underwater for a short period. Not amazing progress, but every one of them could paddle out of a pool or dam if needed. 

 

Pool parties are extremely common here, and no one with a pool thinks twice about having kids over, I've never been asked if I can swim, it's just assumed. Our homeschool group at one point had a fenced pool, and the kids went in it basically unsupervised (if you couldnt reach the gate you had to ask permission, no one was allowed to 'let' kids in. Anyone who could reach the gate to open it was assumed to know how to swim). I've read on this forum about people hiring 'lifeguards' for personal parties.... that's weird. I don't think that's even possible here. 

 

I'm constantly amazed by how different America is. As a child I was taught we were very similar, but in so many ways we just aren't. 

[katilac]

  They do have to take a swim test, but not all instructors are careful about assessing the situation. 

 

I guess this is where I would place the greater portion of the blame - if my kids take your swim test and pass it, why would I think they can't swim well enough for the activity? 

[MomtoCandJ]

I wish I could get inexpensive, near by swim lessons for my girls. You would think this wouldn't be that hard in a state surrounded on 3 sides by water but it is.

[Mabelen]

It gets me that here in the U.S the have the swimming pool school situation backwards. High schools do tend to have a pool for the swim, diving and water polo teams, but elementary school kids are not taught how to swim. In my district, all High School freshmen have to take a semester of swimming. Inevitably there are some who can't (invariably minority kids), they still have to take the class but it is not setup for beginners to learn how to swim, so I am not sure how well they learn if at all. The pool at the high school sits mostly empty during school hours, as team practice is before and after school, so it could definitely be utilized by the elementary school students.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think that's great that lesson are available. Here in the Midwest U S, lessons are expensive and never conveniently scheduled.

 

I have also admired Australia's ability to let kids use sunscreen. It would take a doctor note here.

 

This has been my experience.

 

I didn't sign my kid up for a particular summer camp because of it.  I was worried he'd get burnt and the counselors weren't allowed to put sunscreen on the kids.  It's pretty hard to put sunscreen on yourself!

They weren't allowed to put bug spray on either and he has strong reactions to any kind of bug bite. 

 

I could put both on in the morning, but that wouldn't last 8 + hours. 

 

Completely ridiculous. 

[Daria]

I agree that the parent logic here is faulty, but the organization needs to step up and take responsibility.  It's their job to make sure that everyone is safe, even the kids with incompetent parents and the kids who might end up rescuing someone with incompetent parents.  If swimming is required, then there needs to be a rigorous test, and letting someone pass when they shouldn't needs to be cause for termination.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I guess this is where I would place the greater portion of the blame - if my kids take your swim test and pass it, why would I think they can't swim well enough for the activity? 

 

Yeah that's pretty confusing. 

[TechWife]

I have also admired Australia's ability to let kids use sunscreen. It would take a doctor note here.

 

 

?? Sunscreen is an OTC product in the US, is readily available and millions of kids wear it all the time. No doctor's note required. 

[TechWife]

It gets me that here in the U.S the have the swimming pool school situation backwards. High schools do tend to have a pool for the swim, diving and water polo teams, but elementary school kids are not taught how to swim. 

 

Not around here. Our high school swim teams have to rent pool time from the YMCA pools and the nearby universities. Nothing like having a "home" swim meet 45 minutes from your school! I don't think our county school system even owns a pool.

[Guest]

Non swimmers should never go within ten feet of water. Not even on a dock. I'm serious. I've seen too many accidents and near drownings. If you cannot swim and want to do a water sport, taking swim lessons is prerequisite to doing it. It would be like me wanting to drive a Mack without having earned a learner's permit for a compact car.

[Guest]

I've seen kids who can swim fine capsize their canoes and have a panic attack from the shock and need to be retrieved because they can't get it together to swim to shore. I guess I do think life jackets are partially there for the panic attacks.

 

But it's crazy to me that anyone would sign a kid up for sailing who can't swim.

 

It's also crazy to me that there are so many kids who can't swim, though I know there are factors for that. I'm always glad that my city has free pools and extremely inexpensive lessons and outreach, in part because they want to help prevent drownings. There was a kid at the pool yesterday who I saw couldn't pass the swim test (just back and forth once) so he could go off the board. The lifeguard manager took time to go over and talk to him for little while and then got his father over and explained what he needed to do to help his kid learn to do more than tread water for a minute (which was basically all the kid could do).

I don't know if they still do this, but the boyscout troops in this area would not only make sure the kids could swim, they'd then take them out onto the water, have them capsize their boats, and practice righting the boat and treading water before getting back in precisely so the kids would have some exposure to a real life danger scenario and be able to respond with half a brain.

 

I thought that was a super idea when I heard it, because in the heat of the moment you don't want to freeze up and drown.

[Mabelen]

Not around here. Our high school swim teams have to rent pool time from the YMCA pools and the nearby universities. Nothing like having a "home" swim meet 45 minutes from your school! I don't think our county school system even owns a pool.

One more data point to add to the not all public schools are the same at all. Thank you, I had mistakenly assumed most high schools did have a pool.

[Guest]

Ours do here (most, anyway) but at my district in California they didn't. However there are almost no recreational pools here in yards, whereas in Cali every apartment complex and a good chunk of the houses had them. We have so many lakes, rivers, and of course the ocean around here that it is a basic survival skill.

[Daria]

?? Sunscreen is an OTC product in the US, is readily available and millions of kids wear it all the time. No doctor's note required. 

 

At daycare centers and preschools in our area a teacher needs a doctor's note to apply sunscreen.  Most doctors will write the note when you go in for the annual physical, which is also required, so it doesn't take a separate trip.  

 

Once kids are past about kindergarten they're expected to apply it to themselves, and then you don't need a note.

[Farrar]

?? Sunscreen is an OTC product in the US, is readily available and millions of kids wear it all the time. No doctor's note required. 

 

I've read several articles about how there are new rules in some states or at some schools that prevent teachers from helping young students apply sunscreen. It's not allowed, not even with parental permission.

[Farrar]

One more data point to add to the not all public schools are the same at all. Thank you, I had mistakenly assumed most high schools did have a pool.

 

A lot of the ones around here do (though several share them as public pools and it's definitely not all of them). However, the point that none of the elementary schools have them stands. I've never heard of an elementary school with a pool unless it was a ritzy private school or something.

[Tsuga]

Here do have to to sign a note saying they are allowed to apply sunscreen but no doctor's note is required.

 

Swim lessons, however, are very much a middle class activity that in some cases need to be had for years if a water-phobic child is to learn to swim. It is very common for adults not to know how to swim, amazingly.

 

How sad that these kids were not prepared for camp. I wonder how they felt when they realized their parents had set them up like that, however unintentionally.

[LucyStoner]

Would you send a kid on an overnight backpacking trip who had never been hiking?

Believe me some people do. There was one kid in such bad shape on my student conservation association crew they came *this* close to hiking to a call point and requesting an ATV to pull him out.

 

My older son can't swim. It would never even dawn on me to sign him up for a sport on the water. That said, the swimming lessons that he needs aren't vaguely affordable. He's scared of water and has autism, he likely won't learn unless he works 1 on 1 with a very skilled adaptive swim teacher. The group lessons he did got him nowhere. The one on one volunteer adaptive swim coaches via the Y couldn't help either. So I definitely don't consider lessons all that accessible!

[Daria]

It gets me that here in the U.S the have the swimming pool school situation backwards. High schools do tend to have a pool for the swim, diving and water polo teams, but elementary school kids are not taught how to swim. In my district, all High School freshmen have to take a semester of swimming. Inevitably there are some who can't (invariably minority kids), they still have to take the class but it is not setup for beginners to learn how to swim, so I am not sure how well they learn if at all. The pool at the high school sits mostly empty during school hours, as team practice is before and after school, so it could definitely be utilized by the elementary school students.

 

This must vary depending on the part of the country, because schools don't normally have pools in our area.  The big rich district where we live doesn't have any pools in high schools, although I think there is 1 upper elementary school that shares a piece of property with a parks and rec pool.  High school teams rent space in parks and rec pools or private pools.  

 

The district next to me has pools at a couple of their many high schools, but the pools are run by parks and rec and are used all day long.  They have mommy and me swim classes, and aqua aerobics for seniors, and when the HS students are using some of the lanes there are still other community groups like swimming lessons going on in other lanes or in the "teaching pool" which is about 3 feet deep.

[abacus2]

I am unaware of any public schools with pools or swim teams in my area. I don't know if that is a thing anywhere in TN. I have to drive 20 or more minutes to the closest pool accessible to me. All of them cost at least $5 per person per visit and most are only available with an expensive membership. 

[Frances]

I had to pass a swim test to graduate from my college in IA. If you couldn't swim, you had to take swimming lessons for at least one of the two required P.E. classes.

 

I was in a small school district and there certainly weren't any pools at our school and the community outdoor pool was closed for the season when school was in session. But the local summer rec program made it very easy to get swimming lessons. My small town didn't have a pool but there was one 11 miles away in a town in the same school district. Buses took kids to lessons every morning and to recreational swimming two or three afternoons per week. Except for paying, no parental involvement was needed. When I was in high school, we would sometimes bike the 11 miles one way for a couple of hours of recreational swimming and then bike home afterwards.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Non swimmers should never go within ten feet of water. Not even on a dock. I'm serious. I've seen too many accidents and near drownings. If you cannot swim and want to do a water sport, taking swim lessons is prerequisite to doing it. It would be like me wanting to drive a Mack without having earned a learner's permit for a compact car.

 

Uhh..that's a bit extreme.  I take my kids to the city pool.  Many kids there can't swim. 

It's shallow though. 

[LucyStoner]

Uhh..that's a bit extreme. I take my kids to the city pool. Many kids there can't swim.

It's shallow though.

I have to agree. How do my kids get less afraid, to say nothing of learning if they can't get within 10 FT of water? My sons spend a lot of time at the beach, a lot of time at the lake near our home and a lot of time fishing. It would be great if they could swim but frankly they could fall and drown in the tub too and I still expect them to bathe.

[TrixieB]

I wonder how many US schools have pools.  I never attended a school that had a pool or a swim team.

 

Luckily, I live about a mile away from our city's rec center and I can afford the annual membership fee and swim lessons.

 

When I was a kid, I taught myself to swim (not well) by walking with sibs / friends to the public pools in the summer time.  Nowadays, kids can't go to the pool without a parent and a membership - except through paid summer camp.  So pretty much, you have to have money to learn to swim.

 

The neighboring city closed all of its pools this summer because of budget issues.

 

It doesn't surprise me that a lot of people don't know how to swim.

 

Several of the public high schools here have a city pool very close by.  The swim teams use it early in the morning or in the afternoons right after school.  At other times there are lessons, open swim, lap swim, etc.

 

The city pools used to offer one free session (8 once-weekly classes) to kids in 3rd or 4th grade.  I don't know if they still do that.  There are only so many swim sessions offered, not nearly enough for all kids in one grade to get a free session. And how well will a kid that age be able to swim if that's all the lessons he/she gets?

 

I think it would be great to have pools near the schools, so kids could do swimming for PE.  But pools are expensive, land is at a premium, and I just don't see it happening here.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Growing up only my junior high had a pool.  None of the schools in the city had one.  The high schools did not have one. 

[LucyStoner]

The schools here do not have pools per say but many high schools are built adjacent to or walking distance from a community center with a pool. I think all 3rd or 4th graders here get lessons. I got lessons via school but we walked about 1.5 blocks to the community center pool. The community centers are owned and operated by the city but the school district has access via some sort of lease arrangement.

[Farrar]

I wish more cities would adopt a free pools policy. It never would have occurred to me before I moved here, but since we have lived here, I've come to believe it's an safety measure and a civil rights need. In many poor families, especially African-American families, there's no access to water and when there's no access, no one learns to swim. This is why drowning is a much bigger issue in African-American communities, but it's also an issue in poor communities.

 

I know that's different from what the OP is talking about - anyone who can sign their kids up for the sailing lessons could have (and probably should have!) signed them up for swim lessons instead.

[LucyStoner]

Several of the public high schools here have a city pool very close by. The swim teams use it early in the morning or in the afternoons right after school. At other times there are lessons, open swim, lap swim, etc.

 

The city pools used to offer one free session (8 once-weekly classes) to kids in 3rd or 4th grade. I don't know if they still do that. There are only so many swim sessions offered, not nearly enough for all kids in one grade to get a free session. And how well will a kid that age be able to swim if that's all the lessons he/she gets?

 

I think it would be great to have pools near the schools, so kids could do swimming for PE. But pools are expensive, land is at a premium, and I just don't see it happening here.

I wonder if we live in the same city. Sounds like a similar set up.

[Annie G]

Huh- never thought about non swimmers staying out of the water. I grew up sailing nearly every weekend and neither my mom or sister could swim. We flipped the boat several times during my childhood and the non swimmers did fine.  

 

We've brought young non swimming grandkids on the water with life jackets- our park district rents paddle boats, canoes, and kayaks and makes everyone wear a life jacket and doesn't ask whether anyone can swim.  

[Dmmetler]

I am unaware of any public schools with pools or swim teams in my area. I don't know if that is a thing anywhere in TN. I have to drive 20 or more minutes to the closest pool accessible to me. All of them cost at least $5 per person per visit and most are only available with an expensive membership.

I'm in TN as well, and not only are there no school pools, but a lot of the towns are putting in Splash parks instead of swimming pools. We're talking maybe 6 inches of water, tops (with sprinklers and fountains). The one community pool in my suburb costs $55/month for a family membership if you're a city resident, more if you're not. It's not a kid-friendly pool, either, and is used a large part of the day for classes (Aqua Zumba and stuff like that) and adult-only lap swimming. They have a team, which costs even more. My DD can swim, a little (enough to pass the basic test to use the diving boards/go in the deep end) but she's NOT a strong swimmer, and a big part of it is lack of practice. When I was her age, I would walk or bike to the pool and spend hours there daily, all summer long.

[Garga]

Pools in schools? Swim teams? Never heard of any of that in this area. I had no idea that schools had swim teams. I always thought that was a private sport on the side, like karate or something.

 

I didn't learn to swim until I was 36 when my husband taught me at the local (expensive) pool. My kids can't swim, but I also don't sign them up for boating sports.

 

I always mean to take them somewhere to learn how to swim, but I actually have no idea where to go for swimming lessons. The local pool doesn't provide them. I'll have to do some google searching to figure it out. My oldest son hates water in his face. Will NOT put his face underwater.

[Library Momma]

Here most High Schools and some Jr Highs have pools.  They are used for the school swim teams and also usually for Park and Rec swim lessons and free swim for the community.  There are very few towns that have a public pool outside of a school.  Most have a public beach on a lake or the ocean and sometimes town swim lessons are held there (usually on lake beaches).  The exceptions are a few wealthier towns with pools or cities large enough to have a YMCA.

 

That being said I can't imagine someone that can't swim signing up for water sports!

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wish more cities would adopt a free pools policy. It never would have occurred to me before I moved here, but since we have lived here, I've come to believe it's an safety measure and a civil rights need. In many poor families, especially African-American families, there's no access to water and when there's no access, no one learns to swim. This is why drowning is a much bigger issue in African-American communities, but it's also an issue in poor communities.

 

I know that's different from what the OP is talking about - anyone who can sign their kids up for the sailing lessons could have (and probably should have!) signed them up for swim lessons instead.

 

Although another issue is quality though.  I took my kids to some of the low cost or free swim stuff around here.  The quality was very poor.  I didn't get a sense that the kids could learn how to swim from the way the classes were taught.  My kids never did.  And they went for more than one year in a row.  At one point they asked my younger kid to leave because he was too afraid to get his face wet.  They just have a one size fits all mentality and it's very minimal taught by underpaid teenagers. 

[Farrar]

Although another issue is quality though.  I took my kids to some of the low cost or free swim stuff around here.  The quality was very poor.  I didn't get a sense that the kids could learn how to swim from the way the classes were taught.  My kids never did.  And they went for more than one year in a row.  At one point they asked my younger kid to leave because he was too afraid to get his face wet.  They just have a one size fits all mentality and it's very minimal taught by underpaid teenagers. 

 

Totally true here too. Definitely not perfect and only for the most neurotypical of neurotypical kids. But that's still a lot of kids being reached who might otherwise live their lives in danger of drowning.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Totally true here too. Definitely not perfect and only for the most neurotypical of neurotypical kids. But that's still a lot of kids being reached who might otherwise live their lives in danger of drowning.

 

I don't know.  From the beginning to the end nobody was swimming.  Even the kids totally into it.

[wintermom]

There are definitely huge cultural differences in swimming education and water safety. Learning to swim is very, very common in Canada. Even though it costs a lot to have mostly indoor facilities, or the instruction happens in cold lakes or rivers in the summer, most Canadians learn to swim. Our local governments (and increasingly local bussinesses) fund amazing indoor and/or outdoor facilities. Schools provide some lessons for elementary school children. Not many high schools have swimming pools attached to their building.

 

With all the relatively warm water available in the US, it's not the cost that is stopping most people from learning to swim. It's just just doesn't seem to be a cultural or financial priority there. 

 

Sailing, on the other hand, is a fairly elite activity in Canada. I cannot imagine someone taking sailing lessons who had never learned to swim. But then again, if you're capsizing in the water up here, it's going to be cold and your water survival skills, not necessarily swimming ability, are going to be what helps you.

[SparklyUnicorn]

 

 

With all the relatively warm water available in the US, it's not the cost that is stopping most people from learning to swim. It's just just doesn't seem to be a cultural or financial priority there. 

 

LOL..Uhhh what?  I'm kind of confused by this comment. 

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Pools in schools? Swim teams? Never heard of any of that in this area. I had no idea that schools had swim teams. I always thought that was a private sport on the side, like karate or something.

 

I didn't learn to swim until I was 36 when my husband taught me at the local (expensive) pool. My kids can't swim, but I also don't sign them up for boating sports.

 

I always mean to take them somewhere to learn how to swim, but I actually have no idea where to go for swimming lessons. The local pool doesn't provide them. I'll have to do some google searching to figure it out. My oldest son hates water in his face. Will NOT put his face underwater.

Are there any YMCA or Jewish Community Centers near you? They offer lessons usually.

 

As for you child not putting his face under water, a good instructor will help. Putting your face in the water is one of the first lessons.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

If your kid can't swim, please do not sign them up for activities like sailing camps or high school sailing programs. A pfd is not a replacement for the skill and frankly, they are a safety hazard for everyone else.

 

Your kid is not the exception.

I am confused. Are you saying that pfd are hazards or non-swimmers are hazards? I am guessing you mean non-swimmers and I would have to agree with that.