The title of this post is not meant to shock anyone because the reality of not being able to swim is 100X more shocking than any string of words I could ever put together.

Fortunately, I had parents who cared enough to ensure I knew how to swim through several swim classes and numerous trips to the local high school for open swim; frequent trips to Puerto Rico as a child, solidified my aquatic skill set. My wife and I have two kids and we’ve already discussed the importance of swimming for them.

I bring up this topic because of an incredible post by Mario Vittone [the original article disappeared because I think the reaction crashed his hosting/blog platform account; it’s been reposted HERE] that really struck a chord with me because I have an intense set of opinions of the general public in that too many people lack true self-awareness and have this false belief that certain things (like drowning or someone close to them drowning) “won’t happen to them” and that is really unfortunate because accidents happen everyday and people (including children) die horrible deaths under water everyday.

As a parent, I cannot imagine being anywhere near water and being unable to swim. What happens if my toddler falls into a pool or happens to get pushed into the water by a strong wave at the beach? Do I rely on someone else to save my child? Do I stand there crying like a spoiled child because I did not have the forethought to take a swim class and ensure I knew what to do to save the life of the child I brought into this world?

Self-sufficiency can lend itself nicely to a multitude of areas in one’s life and the topic of swimming is one I ask you to consider if you don’t know how to swim. We all have certain challenges (some may even consider these FEARS) in our lives to overcome, but there is no time like the present. I’m being completely serious here. Please learn to swim. If you are a parent, think of your child. Teach your kids to swim as well. The younger they are, the better that skill set can be solidified and improved upon. These are literally life and death issues.

Saving a drowning person is a whole other skill set in addition to proper swimming technique and one that would DEFINITELY require a formal series of training sessions to complete. I’m additionally reminded of this by a story in today’s Detroit Free Press regarding a man who saved his 15year old son and his son’s 15year old friend. It’s an incredibly sad story and one that caused me to ask many questions about the entire incident as well as reminding me of how I feel regarding the importance of every person knowing how to swim. A 15year old may not seem like a strong individual, but as a person is drowning and fighting for their life and the adrenaline is flying through their veins, the amount of panic can cause a significant amount of complications when trying to save someone’s life.

To conclude, if you care about your own life, the life of your (or anyone else’s) child or any other human being (young or old) who may need you in the water as they struggle to find a breath, I would ask you to please find the nearest swim lesson facility and learn. It really is that important.