After a significant rise in the number of young people drowning in Australia, there has been a call for compulsory swimming lessons at primary schools.
According to the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), 371 people aged between 15 and 24 drowned between 2002 and 2012 (a 25 per cent increase on previous decades).
CEO Rob Bradley says that many children are no longer taught basic swimming skills, and 20 per cent of kids leaving primary school in coming months will be unable to stay afloat for two minutes.
The organisation also believes many families simply can’t afford swimming lessons and having them as part of the curriculum would be one way to ensure all children receive training.
This post by Anabelle Cottee is a poignant reminder of the importance of water safety. She writes:
Ten years ago, I watched my baby brother’s lifeless body being pulled out of our family swimming pool by my devastated older sister.
I remember standing there, watching in disbelief, as she carried our precious Lachie inside. He was grey with blue lips and completely limp. There was no pulse. No heartbeat.
My sister, only 13 at the time, desperately tried to remember the CPR she had learnt in school while Mum called the ambulance. But all she could say was, “Please help me. My baby was in the pool. Please, please help me.”
My sister cleared Lachie’s airways and he immediately began vomiting torrents of water. But he still wasn’t breathing. Time stopped. Mum’s fingers pressed furiously on Lachie’s chest as she took instructions from the 000 operator over the phone. We finally heard three ambulances scream up the driveway, just as Lachie quietly gasped his first breath. A horde of paramedics rushed in, moving us away from him.