to think that swimming is not a "life skill"?

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

A friend today said to me that swimming was a life skill (and that's why her son took lessons).

I don't think it is a life skill. AIBU to think that?

[FruitPastillesForever]

I think it's a life skill, like driving, cleaning or cooking... But this thread has been done many times and there's always two arguments.

[LeBOF]

Why wouldn't it be?

[FruitPastillesForever]

Plus, kids find it easier to learn to swim, adults seem to find it more difficult.

[donnie]

Of course it is a life skill! if someone is able to swim then that is a Good Thing and could potentially save their life one day.

It is many other things as well - great exercise, lots of fun and a wonderful pastime. Learning to swim is also a hell of a lot cheaper than other stuff kids might do......

[hockeyforjockeys]

Well when you accidently fall into a body of water you might be quite glad you learnt. Doing something that will save your life comes quite high up the list of essential life skills IMHO.

[SilentBoob]

Definitely a life skill. I would hate my children not to be able to swim, from a safety point of view and a joining in point of view.

[culturemulcher]

I'm a bit surprised. I didn't know this topic had been done to death and I really didn't think there were people out there who wouldn't consider swimming a life skill.

You teach a child to cross the road; you teach a child to learn to swim, surely?

[Havingaminutespeace]

I'm with your friend on this one, and think it's a definite life skill. It's something that needs to be taught for safety. (Don't agree with FruitPastilles though on the driving front - nobody NEEDS to drive (unless they're in the arse end of nowhere) but they do need to learn how to swim.

[whackamole]

I think swimming is, I don't think driving is. Not driving won't kill you if you get into a car, not swimming will if you fall in the water though.

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

Sorry! I did not realise it had been done before!

Yes, from the point of view that it could save a person's life, I agree - it is a life skill and I can see that AWBU!

I understand what she meant by that now.

[Rhubarbgarden]

I would say it was a life skill, yes.

[NagooIsBuildingAnArk]

Ha. that was short

[FruitPastillesForever]

I nicked this quote but it makes perfect sense to me. "If you fall into the water without anyone around, and you can't swim, you won't have a life."

[azazello]

It is. Definitely. Up there with reading and ahead of riding a bike or learning to drive.

Now if only DD would concentrate rather than floating round on a noodle singing to herself...

[BlueFergie]

I actually think it is tbh. Ok it's not essential but it makes life more difficult not being able to do it. Inability to sim is usually accompanied by fear of water and that can make a lot of things very awkward. Boat trips, visits to the seaside, fun park rides, splashing around in pools with your mates/kids. My DH never learnt to swim as a kid and he felt it really hindered his enjoyment of holidays and trips.
My mother was the same and she insisted we all learn to swim. My view is probably tainted by the fact I grew up on the coast and lived in the Caribbean though. But I will insist all my kids learn to swim.

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

er... I should have said that I can see that IWBU!

[WorraLiberty]

I'd like to think if I got stuck down a well I could rely on Lassie

[AThingInYourLife]

What is the definition of a "life skill"?

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

Nagoo - . I was not up for a fight tonight! I just had a real query!! Oops!!!! Used too many exclamation marks there!!!!!!!!!!

[Heswall]

It's an essential like learning to walk as far as I'm concerned. Mine can't ride bikes which drives me crackers but they are good swimmers.

[Scoundrel]

It's a life skill a bit like learning how to not be hit by a car or what to do if you find yourself in quicksand.

[Lizzylou]

Worra

I would agree with your friend, but you have already been put right

[IslaValargeone]

Worra :o

[BBQJuly]

Swimming is certainly a beneficial skill to have and it can save a person's life. So it is a good skill to have in one's life.

However "life skills" has come to have a particular definition which isn't quite the same as the above.

www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_Life_Skills.html

Life skills have been defined by WHO as ?abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life?. They represent the psycho-social skills that determine valued behaviour and include reflective skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, to personal skills such as self-awareness, and to interpersonal skills. Practicing life skills leads to qualities such as self-esteem, sociability and tolerance, to action competencies to take action and generate change, and to capabilities to have the freedom to decide what to do and who to be. Life skills are thus distinctly different from physical or perceptual motor skills, such as practical or health skills, as well as from livelihood skills, such as crafts, money management and entrepreneurial skills. Health and livelihood education however, can be designed to be complementary to life skills education, and vice versa.

Life Skills-Based Education (LSBE) has a long history of supporting child development and health promotion. In 1986, the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion recognized life skills in terms of making better health choices. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) linked life skills to education by stating that education should be directed towards the development of the child?s fullest potential. The 1990 Jomtien Declaration on Education for All took this vision further and included life skills among essential learning tools for survival, capacity development and quality of life. The 2000 Dakar World Education Conference took a position that all young people and adults have the human right to benefit from ?an education that includes learning to know, to do, to live together and to be?, and included life skills in two out of the six EFA Goals.

Life skills-based education is now recognized as a methodology to address a variety of issues of child and youth development and thematic responses including as expressed in UNGASS on HIV/AIDS (2001), UNGASS on Children (2002), World Youth Report (2003), World Program for Human Rights Education (2004), UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2005), UN Secretary General?s Study on Violence Against Children (2006), 51st Commission on the Status of Women (2007), and the World Development Report (2007).

www.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_whichskills.html

"There is no definitive list of life skills. The list below includes the psychosocial and interpersonal skills generally considered important. The choice of, and emphasis on, different skills will vary according to the topic and local conditions (e.g., decision-making may feature strongly in HIV/AIDS prevention whereas conflict management may be more prominent in a peace education program). Though the list suggests these categories are distinct from each other, many skills are used simultaneously in practice."

Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal communication skills
Negotiation/refusal skills
Empathy
Cooperation and Teamwork
Advocacy Skills
Decision-Making and Critical Thinking Skills
Decision making / problem solving skills
Critical thinking skills
Coping and Self-Management Skills
Skills for increasing internal locus of control
Skills for managing feelings
Skills for managing stress

[monkeymoma]

I think it is, if you cant swim its not as if that's all you cant do, it rules out SOOOO many other activities

and you can learn to swim as an adult, but not in the same comfortable natural way

and it could save their lives! I feel into water at night time and my foot got stuck with my head about a foot bellow the surface. I was always a confident swimmer and calmly bent down and freed myself, then swam up - had I paniced because being underwater was so strange then I'ld be dead! Being underwater was no shock to me and I was able to orient myself so I dealt with the issue.

I say all this as someone whose child is anything but a natural water baby and is not really getting it although he has a few skills - it worries me and I feel that I have failed him in the same way as if I hadn't taught him to use a knife and fork