wild swimming safety

[torpidcrystals]

We love to go kayaking or out on the SUP and have our regular places we go to but recently they have been places with people swimming.

We've been at one of our favourite places for kayaking this morning and two/three families were there when we got back but with no regard for safety as the parents were on the bank in picnic chairs reading or chatting and about 10 children were in the water. That spot is full of reeds under the water and the children called out to each other about it getting deep and it being full of weeds but the parents were taking no notice. We do go wild swimming ourselves but not in this spot because it does suddenly get deep (chest height for an adult in unexpected places) and there are a lot of weeds. It's got a sign on the noticeboard about not being safe to swim because of weeds.

Yes if you take kids swimming you must keep an eye on them. I don't blame people wanting to jump in water on a day like this.

OP totally agree. I was a lifeguard when younger so have seen first hand how quickly people can get into difficulties.

I live by the Thames. Two men died in the next village in June while swimming.

The number of parents in my sons class (Y1) who are taking their kids out swimming and other water activities (kayaking) on the river. Especially as I have seen these children swim and many of them barely can.

I love wild swimming, but it’s not for children/novice swimmers.

If the sign says it's not safe the children shouldn't be in there.

I dread the reports of deaths in water, paddling pools etc when we get heat waves. A poor 12 year old girl drowned in a river in Scotland recently

YANBU

this happens every summer and sadly lives are lost every summer because people don’t treat water with the respect they should. But people either aren’t aware of the dangers or think they’re over stated, or they just think it’ll never happen to them.

I agree that kids need supervision by a competent swimmer and need to choose spots carefully, because they’re not good at risk assessment, spotting potential hazards, or understanding their own limitations.

BUT it’s glorious to swim in natural water and the over-marketing of what should be a simple pleasure really annoys me. It’s good to teach kids to take joy in outdoor activities. I don’t see a real risk to even a kid who isn’t much of a swimmer in a sit-on-top kayak in flat, shallow water with buoyancy aid and attentive adult.

I agree

People see rivers, lakes, ponds etc as giant swimming pools but they really aren’t

There are so many hazards in the water which can really put your life at risk if you don’t know what you’re doing.

We are a river town and yet teenagers still insist on jumping off bridges into the river. Too many people die from it

@Saz12

I agree that kids need supervision by a competent swimmer and need to choose spots carefully, because they’re not good at risk assessment, spotting potential hazards, or understanding their own limitations.

BUT it’s glorious to swim in natural water and the over-marketing of what should be a simple pleasure really annoys me. It’s good to teach kids to take joy in outdoor activities. I don’t see a real risk to even a kid who isn’t much of a swimmer in a sit-on-top kayak in flat, shallow water with buoyancy aid and attentive adult.

I agree. Swimming in water with reeds/weeds is a real no-no though. It's one of the things listed to avoid on the Wild Swimming website which is generally regarded as the go to website for information on such matters - though it's worth being aware that their inclusion of a place on their list of places to swim is no guarantee of safety; there can never be a foolproof guarantee of safety when it comes to wild swimming.

@torpidcrystals We love to go kayaking or out on the SUP

But while you’re judging the swimmers, plenty of people will be judging you for having (in their eyes) dubious safety practices around water sports.

Every year people die when they go kayaking, there was one this very weekend on the south coast.

Every parent has to judge the risk for their child themselves, and these parents that you’re judging are clearly happy with that.

Yeah this is the thing with wild swimming isn't it - somewhere like France, everyone does it so they're brought up to know how to do it safely - we weren't so I've always felt a bit leery of it.

I'd love to feel more confident with it - for the meantime we just go to a boating lake near us that have a little beach for it.

[quote MaskingForIt]**@torpidcrystals* We love to go kayaking or out on the SUP*

But while you’re judging the swimmers, plenty of people will be judging you for having (in their eyes) dubious safety practices around water sports.

Every year people die when they go kayaking, there was one this very weekend on the south coast.

Every parent has to judge the risk for their child themselves, and these parents that you’re judging are clearly happy with that.[/quote]
If they want to judge us then they can but we take all the safety precautions we can - we go out in a group not alone, we all have life jackets and we go in safe places (inland rivers, not the sea, not quarries, not places with fast currents). I've done the British Canoeing foundation stage rescue training and so have the two other adults I was with this morning. My DCs have all done the British Canoeing 1 and 2* courses (which were replaced last year) and so have their DCs.

Very different from parents not watching their children and taking no notice of the children saying they were swimming in the reeds.

^ I missed the 'r' from safe . Obviously there are only safer places not safe places.

There's so much scare mongering about wild swimming that the genuine safety messages get lost in the DON'T EVER DO IT YOU'LL DIE hysteria.
As a child in the 70s&80s we were told there is NO SAFE way to swim outdoors. DO NOT DO IT, EVER. Because of this we weren't taught how to choose a safe spot, what to look out for, and what absolutely must be avoided (e.g. reservoir outflows). A whole generation in the UK lost a connection to nature that people across most of the rest of Europe have. It's sad.

People die in the mountains every year but I'd never say 'don't ever go into the mountains'. That would be very sad. Life is better for time spent in the mountains and we should not deny our young people that. I would say 'take food, map (and learn how to use it), watch the weather, have good footwear and emergency clothing etc etc). Same should apply to going in or on the water.

People (including children) who can swim well do not drown because water gets deep suddenly or because there are weeds. People who can't swim well should never go swimming except in very safe conditions with lots of competent supervision.

We swim in all sorts of wild places and so do our kids. it is one of the great joys of life to swim in lakes and rivers. Like many things, it is very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, but not dangerous if you do.

Just because some people are idiots, it doesn't mean that wild swimming is dangerous for people who know what they are doing. I am tired of restrictions and danger signs in places where there is no particular danger.

I would say 'take food, map (and learn how to use it), watch the weather, have good footwear and emergency clothing etc etc). Same should apply to going in or on the water.

Yes, this really should apply. The guidelines for safer wild swimming (or other use of water) are out there just like the guidelines fo going to the mountains are. Unfortunately you will always see people letting their children swim in places where it's really not advisable and ignoring the warnings just like you will always see people in this weather going up Snowdon in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops

I think the idea that it is only ok to swim in pools or public beaches with lifeguards is pretty crazy.

In fact I think the term "wild swimming" is crazy. It's just swimming.

If the parents weren't watching adequately that's not great, though it doesn't sound like you say any actual problems, the kids seemed to be aware of the depth and perhaps they were all reasonable swimmers.

In my city, it's become more common to see people away from public beaches because the rules about parents supervising have become so onerous. If kids are eight or under the adult must be in the water with them, in arm's reach, at all times, and is in charge of their safety. Almost impossible if you have more than one child. My part of town is known for having many supervised public beaches in walking distance of almost everyone, and yet they are now talking about building a splash pad because it's so impractical to have toddlers at the beach.

The constant elevation of safety concerns has largely meant that kids are spending more time indoors.

Wild swimming is great fun if you do it safely. I went this morning on a dog walk - dogs had a swim and so did I, it was fantastic! But I wasn't alone (DH was with me on dry land), we both had decent phone signal and were in a relatively busy area, and I didn't go out of my depth at any point either.

I do think there's a danger in saying "NEVER WILD SWIM IT"S SO DANGEROUS" though, because that's not always the case. There are plenty of places where you can swim/paddle in perfect safety as long as you take basic precautions.

Two bodies found on the beach this morning only a few miles from me on the south coast. That brings the total to three in less than 3 weeks.

I think the sun brings out people’s inner idiot.

@PurrBox

People (including children) who can swim well do not drown because water gets deep suddenly or because there are weeds. People who can't swim well should never go swimming except in very safe conditions with lots of competent supervision.

We swim in all sorts of wild places and so do our kids. it is one of the great joys of life to swim in lakes and rivers. Like many things, it is very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, but not dangerous if you do.

Just because some people are idiots, it doesn't mean that wild swimming is dangerous for people who know what they are doing. I am tired of restrictions and danger signs in places where there is no particular danger.

People (including children) who can swim well do not drown because water gets deep suddenly or because there are weeds.

Really? Being a good swimmer doesn't mean you won't drown. Over estimating your swimming ability is common, especially in cold water where you are not as good a swimmer as you are in a swimming pool - you can swim shorter distances for starters and can be swimming in a current which you are not used to and lack experience unless you are regular open water swimmer and do it with a club with supervision and training plus appropriate clothing for open water swimming. There is a huge difference between an experienced open water swimmer in a wetsuit (or trisuit if appropriate) and an inexperienced child in an unfamiliar river in a bikini without proper supervision.

People get caught in weeds or in hazards hidden by the weeds and panic, people get out of their depth and panic. If they panic in water which is not too deep and not full of reeds then they are much more likely to be OK. Wild Swimming (and many other organisations) warn against swimming where there are weeds.

A teenager died in our local river a couple of years back after he jumped in and got caught up in reeds. His friends couldn't rescue him, they couldn't even find him as the reeds were thick and the water murky.

I spent 3 months of every year in the Adirondacks (upstate NY) on the shores of a lake, and I, my siblings, all of our friends, and all of our kids, have swum in every possible lake and river in the area. Swimming in lakes and encountering a few weeds, jumping into icy mountain streams, wading through swamps- it is all as familiar to me as walking on public footpaths is to an English child. We often swim naked, never use a wetsuit. This is how we learned to swim, and it is not dangerous for us.

Having this dilemma with my 15 year old his friends have found a lake to swim in and are going one mum says shes seen it and is ok , we have said he cant go as we don't know where lake is what leads in to it etc and no adult present . But he is fuming and saying we are being unreasonable

Swimming in lakes and encountering a few weeds, jumping into icy mountain streams, wading through swamps- it is all as familiar to me as walking on public footpaths is to an English child.

You've got the skills to assess the risk then but the children today didn't, they were a mix of ages and they did notice the weeds but carried on swimming in them whilst the adults took more notice.

^ of each other than their children.

I swim in a local quarry which is a proper diving centre and has a swimming section, a diving section, and a requirement to take a spotter if you are swimming. I have taken DS who can swim well and he's only allowed to swim with a float. There are no tides/currents.
We also swim in the sea but from well populated beaches and usually with DH on the land and me in the water with one DC (DD is not a strong swimmer and I'd only take her in if I had hands on her).

Nevertheless DS tried to grab me not the float at the quarry and someone had to help him get back on the float (the friend we were with). So we will continue to swim (with friends) but we know the dangers.