Monday's Question Of The Day - June 12, 2017

[MoochNNoodles]

Let's talk about swimming!

Are you a good swimmer? Can you dive? Or you prefer to float? Or stay out of the water altogether? How about water slides?



I was scared to learn to swim as a kid but once I did; I fell in love with being in the water. I don't have any desire to learn all the different styles and what not. But I might actually enjoy swimming laps for exercise if we had a pool. I would LOVE to have a nice pool of our own! I'm usually the one who wants to stay in the water when everyone else is done.

I never learned to dive. I tried a few times but I never had proper instruction. I'm ok with that too. Floating has it's place too. I used to love water slides! There was a nice water park near my Grandparents when I was a kid. I don't really like roller coasters; but give me a water slide any day! I've gotten too self conscious about wearing a bathing suit these days. We have a small water park/pool close to us I take my kids to; but I haven't tried on my bathing suit yet this year. So no water slides there for me. Last year I just went between the big pool and the kiddie one with my kids.

 

[scraggles]

Hmm... Funny this is today's question when I was only trying to motivate myself to get back into swimming the other day - I'll have to take this as a sign now and get back into the pool!

I'm an OK swimmer. I was a strong enough swimmer as a kid - never that fast - but could swim distances.

After over fifteen years I'd say of having not been in a pool (apart from maybe splashing around in one on holidays) I pushed myself to start again last summer - and I did for a while, but then I stopped again. I even got a water resistant fitbit for Christmas as I wanted to know what distances I was doing - but have I been in a pool since?! Nope.

This week..!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

yes, i'm a good swimmer! it's been probably over 12 years since i've been swimming though. i can dive, though just your basic kind and have had no instruction. well, i don't float well, i tend to gradually sink. and i've never been on a water slide...

 

[Winchester]

I've been a water rat pretty much all my life. As a kid, I lived with my grandmother during summers. And my cousins and I spent all day in the creek. There was a really neat "deep end" at one section, considering we were kids at the time, I really don't know how deep it really was, but it was over our heads and we could dive/jump in. I also grew up in a camping family (my parents were avid campers, so we had to camp, too) and we were always at a local state park that had a lake. So again, get up in the morning, do the chores, and head down to the beach and the water. Come back around 6:00 at night for supper.

So I'm not bad, but not professional either. I can swim; Rick can do a mean dog paddle . He never knew how to swim until we put the pool in. When they were digging for the pool and the hole was dug, he got in and walked down to the 8-foot depth and had me take a picture; he figured that would be the only time he'd ever make it into the deep end. But he goes in and he enjoys the pool, too, although the man cannot float; he sinks like a rock.

I can float. When I was working second shift at the paper plant, I'd come home from work at 11 at night and go for a dip. Since we had a rule that nobody swims alone, our son would usually come out with me. It's kind of weird; I can lay in the water, stretch out, cross my legs, cross my arms behind my head and just float on the water. When I breathe in, I bob up a bit; when I exhale, I drop a bit. But I never go completely under the water, unless I purposely exhale completely. Graham and I would be in the pool for a couple of hours, him on the raft and me just floating around. We'd watch the stars, check out the constellations and then, when we got really chilly, we'd towel off and go inside and I'd have a bit of supper around 2:00 or so in the morning.

Our son can sit on the bottom of the pool, cross-legged. It makes me crazy. He'll sit down there and wave up at us.

 

[Columbine]

I can swim, and really enjoyed it when I was younger. I mostly swim backstroke or breaststroke - I never really got the hang of the breathing techniques for front crawl, possibly because I didn't really have lessons after primary school. I never learned to dive either. Water slides were fun when I was a kid, but I don't think I'd enjoy them now. I can float, but never really saw the point of just lying there floating.

I HATE public pools - I'm not great with crowds of people, the changing rooms are usually nasty, and, like MoochNNoodles , I'm way too self conscious about my body to wear a swimsuit in public It must be well over a decade since I wen swimming. If we had our own pool I'd likely use it a lot, but only if it was indoors! It's mostly way too cold in the UK for me to consider using an outdoor pool

 

[sivyaleah]

Swimming - not particularly good.
I swim better totally under water. I never learned how to properly swim where you move your head out of the water, take a breath, etc. But I had good lung capacity so I was always able to manage my way.
I can float of course!
I'm not a fan of public pools either, for all the reasons Columbine mentioned. I also had a bad experience learning when I was around 10 (camp counselor who thought it was appropriate to just toss me in the pool). Eventually, it was my grandmother offering me $10 if I learned by the end of summer - money was a motivator for me back then, so I learned on my own. Incorrectly but I learned.

 

[betsygee]

We had a pool growing up, so I swam regularly for years and know how to swim, float and dive, but haven't done it regularly as an adult. I did just have an interesting floating experience. I went to a 'float therapy' spa. They have pods with water and Epsom salts that you float in for an hour. It took a little while to get comfortable but then it was pretty relaxing. Interesting experience.

 

[Willowy]

I can swim, not sure if I would say a good swimmer, lol, but I can get by. I float well. . .maybe due to "flotation devices" on my chest? I like water slides but not the tunnel kind---I'm claustrophobic and start to panic about halfway down.

When I was a kid, we were allowed to go to the pool without an adult after age 10 if we could pass a test which was: jump off the high dive, swim across the pool over the water, swim across the pool underwater (didn't have to be all at once---we were allowed to come up for air), tread water for a minute, hold our breath underwater for 30 seconds. If we passed we got a special pin to put on our swimsuits so we could get in without a parent. I was motivated to pass that at soon as I turned 10, so I spent the summer before that practicing (my birthday is at the end of August).

The deep end was either 12 or 16 feet, I don't remember, but I learned to dive to the bottom and my friends and I would play games going after toys we dropped down there. I never learned how to dive head first; every time I tried I belly flopped. So I just jumped in feet-first or cannonballed.

For a bathing suit now, they sell a lot of swimsuits that consist of shorts and a tank top. That's all I wear now. Sometimes I even wear men's trunks with the tank top---they're longer than the shorts that come with the set. Hey, they even have t-shirt and bike short sets now, for really full coverage! Shortinis, Tankini Swimwear | Swimsuits For All

 

[miagi's_mommy]

I love swimming!! And water slides. Our YMCA has a water slide it's pretty cool. I can't dive because of my scoliosis but I like jumping into the pool.

 

[artiemom]

I cannot swim either. It is strange because I live so close to the beach. I love the water/beach. It soothes me.

For some reason, I just cannot tolerate getting my head wet, as in going under or even getting water in my ears. It really terrifies me.

The best attempt I did was almost being able to float, when I was a teenager.

I used to have not fear and walk into water, up to my shoulders.
Now, as I age, I find the water more terrifying. Bridges are beginning to frighten me.~~ Strange

About 15 years ago, I was adventurous. I even went to a water park. I did go down a slide. I had to be assured that the water was not too deep, and that people before and after me we were family members and looking out for me. I loved it!
Now, I am not sure if I would attempt it... age...fear...

 

[di and bob]

My family always had a cabin at the lake when I was a kid, was always in the water, swimming, skiing, etc. My husband and I built a home at that same lake and lived there 6 years, never got in the water. It seems once I got older, I lost all interest in swimming or anything water related. Probably because I don't have hair that can be just left to itself, thin and frizzy if it doesn't get a curling iron to it, so it's just not worth it. I was a strong swimmer, was even a life guard for a while. Now I could care less.

 

[verna davies]

I can swim but wouldn't call myself a good swimmer. I used to love going in the sea as a kid. The beach is only a couple of miles from my home but I have not been in the water for years. The only kind I like now had to be hot with plenty of bubbles

 

[Kieka]

I am not a technically good swimmer but I can swim and float very well. It's been a few years since I have done either but we had a pool as a kid and I spent nearly every day it was warm enough to in it. We also got a season pass to a water park one summer. I am not afraid of water but I am respectful of any moving water because I know how strong unseen currents can be.

I used to work at a Y with swim lessons and I always encouraged every single adult to at least take basic lessons. I think any person who is going to be within 5 feet of a body of water should at least know how to float and swim well enough get to land. I get upset every time I read about a child or adult drowning because they went to the lake or river and no one in their group knew how to swim. You owe it to yourself and your children to have basic swim instruction to save your life. If I had kids I would probably good far as to take a lifeguard course just to I knew techniques in emergencies. My niece went took baby swim lessons so her immediate reaction to water was to swim to the edge if she feel in before she could even walk. She did swimming lessons for two summers too until we were sure she could handle swimming pools and low current flows without problems.

 

[muffy]

I could swim, drive and float when I was kid. I probably still could but I won't get into a pool anymore. Too many people use them for bathrooms.

Muffy

 

[cheeser]

I used to love to swim, although I never got the hang of diving. No matter how hard I tried, part of my brain would freak out at the last minute and refuse to go along with my plans. ;-)

I've never tried going on a water slide, mostly because our parents thought they were so dangerous. But I had no fear of those Slip 'N Slides -- and I should have.

 

[Willowy]

But I had no fear of those Slip 'N Slides -- and I should have

Those were so fun! If you read the fine print it turns out adults aren't supposed to use them---we can splat our innards by flinging ourselves on the ground like that, lol. But man they were fun. Of course 20-year-old drunken frat boys don't care if they splat their innards but probably most of us would rather avoid it .

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Our son can sit on the bottom of the pool, cross-legged. It makes me crazy. He'll sit down there and wave up at us.

I used to be able to do that!

I am not a technically good swimmer but I can swim and float very well. It's been a few years since I have done either but we had a pool as a kid and I spent nearly every day it was warm enough to in it. We also got a season pass to a water park one summer. I am not afraid of water but I am respectful of any moving water because I know how strong unseen currents can be.

I used to work at a Y with swim lessons and I always encouraged every single adult to at least take basic lessons. I think any person who is going to be within 5 feet of a body of water should at least know how to float and swim well enough get to land. I get upset every time I read about a child or adult drowning because they went to the lake or river and no one in their group knew how to swim. You owe it to yourself and your children to have basic swim instruction to save your life. If I had kids I would probably good far as to take a lifeguard course just to I knew techniques in emergencies. My niece went took baby swim lessons so her immediate reaction to water was to swim to the edge if she feel in before she could even walk. She did swimming lessons for two summers too until we were sure she could handle swimming pools and low current flows without problems.

I'm looking into swimming lessons at our local Y. It's pretty expensive but I hear such good things about it. I had my kids take a class at a nearby university last fall. It was ok; but I think they needed a better student to teacher ratio. My DS didn't have the attention span after about 20 minutes he needed someone to redirect him a lot or he'd be entertaining himself. I was talking with the Granddad of one of the kids friends who also had taken the class at the University when they did. He's now learning at the Y and he says it's a much better environment for his grandson.

I'm not hoping for the next Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky; I just want them to be comfortable enough to be safe. My older cousin's girls are all very talented swimmers (so were my cousins); but unfortunately we don't live in the same area for them to be helpful with teaching these guys. Her kids are much older than mine. Now that I'm thinking of it; it was this cousin's brother who taught me to jump in without being afraid as a kid. Both worked as lifeguards and swam on teams through college. We have some opposite genetics at play here too.

I used to love to swim, although I never got the hang of diving. No matter how hard I tried, part of my brain would freak out at the last minute and refuse to go along with my plans. ;-)

I've never tried going on a water slide, mostly because our parents thought they were so dangerous. But I had no fear of those Slip 'N Slides -- and I should have.

My son's Godmother JUST gave him one yesterday! It was so hot here I text her today that we might all slip and slide when we got home tonight. I'm definitely not throwing myself on the ground though. Maybe I can take advantage of the tiny bit of slope the kids use to sled. As long as they won't go crashing into the fence... I better think this through...

 

[Boris Diamond]

I like swimming! I'm a pretty strong swimmer. I like the ocean. The NC coast regularly has 6 foot waves that I love to play in. It's been two years since I have gone! I swam in swimming pools and lakes as a child. I did the five mile swim and got a swimming merit badge in the Boy Scouts. And I am a sinker. I take a deep breath and try to float, but I slowly sink!

 

[AbbysMom]

I never learned how to swim.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

My family relocated from Alaska to Panama City Beach, Florida when I was still quite young, and I was a real waterbaby for most of my young and teen life. Since reaching adulthood, marrying and having kids, there just wasn't time, and now I don't have a place to swim. But I love it. I am not proficient in any style that anyone would recognize, but I can get where I'm going very nicely with something more elegant than a dog-paddle. I can float indefinitely, and used to doze off in the water on a regular basis.