you should pay attention to this
A splash in the water is fun and provides the necessary cooling. Nevertheless, swimming still regularly leads to dangerous situations, sometimes with a fatal outcome. The Royal Dutch Swimming Association (KNZB) notices that we often underestimate the conditions of the water and overestimate our swimming skills.
It is not always good with our swimming skills. “Almost a third of the children between the ages of 6 and 16 have all three swimming diplomas,” Marin Mulder of the swimming association tells AD. “But almost one in ten children has no swimming certificate at all.” And that can lead to dangerous situations for children and adults. “We regularly see that people are poorly aware of their own swimming skills.”
Swimming skill is overrated
Mulder sees that people sometimes underestimate the conditions of the water, for example in open water. “You can’t always see how deep it is somewhere, whether there are currents or whether the water has waves that you have to take into account.” Also, own swimming skills are often overestimated. In other words: we think we can swim better, but in reality it goes less smoothly. Mulder’s advice? Take swimming lessons (or a refresher course), keep practicing and swim in different conditions. So not only in the swimming pool, but also in a recreational lake or lake.
Read also: You should pay attention to this when you go to a recreational lake with your child
Watch each other
Suppose you and your children are looking to cool off in a swimming pool or in the sea. Then what should you pay attention to? “On each other. Keep a close eye on who you are with and swim with. People are often distracted by their phones and an accident can easily happen, especially with children,” Mulder warns. She continues: “It doesn’t involve a lot of screaming and splashing, so paying close attention is always important.”
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