Learn to swim “on paper”!
(Baonghean) - Although it is not yet summer, the situation of drowning in children is happening at an alarming rate and has become a hot issue of public concern. In fact, the cause is clear, but the solution to prevent and combat it is still a concern.
Many tragic drowning cases
Recently, the media and social networks have reported many heartbreaking incidents related to children drowning. Specifically, at 5:00 p.m. on February 1, 2019, at Khe Bo dam in Hamlet 4, Nghia Hop commune (Tan Ky), two biological sisters, Tran Thi T (7 years old) and Tran Thi N (4 years old), went to Khe Bo dam to play together. Unfortunately, the two children slipped and fell into deep water, leading to drowning.
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| Authorities found the body of Ngo Dinh Thai T (born 2007, 6th grade student at Nghi Hai Secondary School (Cua Lo Town) who drowned on January 11. Photo: Archive |
On March 17, Vo Minh D - a 7th grade student at Hanh Thiet Secondary School, Quy Chau District, went on a picnic with his class at the Nam Pong Hydropower Dam, in Chau Hanh Commune (Quy Chau) and also drowned. According to witnesses, while playing, Vo Minh D and another student accidentally slipped into a deep water hole. Although the adults who accompanied them promptly rescued and provided first aid, only one student survived.
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| The situation of children swimming in rivers and lakes in the summer without adult supervision is still worrying. |
Then, two tragic drowning incidents also occurred on the same day, in the same area of Dong Hop commune (Quy Hop), causing the death of two students. The reason was that because they had a day off from school, they invited each other to go swimming in Hieu river. One student fell into a deep sand hole and was found dead an hour later. The other student went fishing with a friend and unfortunately slipped into the dam.
"According to incomplete statistics, from the beginning of 2019 until now, there have been more than 10 drowning cases in children in the province."
Ms. Le Thi Nguyet - Head of Child Protection and Gender Equality Department, Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An province
Or as reported, on the afternoon of April 11, Ho Van H (10 years old, student of Quynh Long Primary School, Quynh Luu District) and 3 friends went swimming in the sea. Big waves swept H away and he went missing. After a day and night of searching, H's body was found.
Don't let children swim "on paper"
In terms of the causes of drowning incidents, in addition to the fact that Nghe An is a locality with a large inland waterway with 13 large and small rivers, with a total length of over 1,000 km; a coastline of 82 km with 6 estuaries leading to the sea. The system of canals, ponds and lakes is large, so there is a high risk of drowning accidents, especially for children, due to the negligence and subjectivity of parents.
Currently, parents, especially in rural and mountainous areas, are busy with work and do not closely supervise their children or lack of caretakers, allowing them to roam freely. Another reason is that many students have not learned to swim and have not been equipped with the skills to handle bad situations in the water...
Therefore, equipping students with knowledge and life skills is identified as a major issue for families, local authorities and relevant sectors. Over the past years, the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Youth Union has directed Youth Unions in districts, cities and towns to coordinate with the Department of Education and Training to implement many good practices in preventing and combating drowning for children.
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| At Anh Son Town Primary School, the mobile swimming pool model has been put into use by the school for 2 years now. Photo: Thai Hien |
For example, at Anh Son Town Primary School, swimming lessons are taught after completing the daily classroom curriculum, each class only focuses on about 15 students so that the instruction is specific, so after only about 4-5 weeks, the students can swim on their own. Or like the 5-year-old kindergarten children in Pha Lom village of the Mong people in Tam Hop commune, Tuong Duong district, the soldiers of Tam Hop Border Guard Station and teachers organized swimming lessons and escape skills in case of an accident.
However, in reality, these are still "model points", and most of what students perceive is mainly theory, they only learn to swim on... paper. Because currently, most schools lack facilities and infrastructure, specifically lack swimming pools, not to mention that studying core subjects takes up most of the time in the program, causing extracurricular hours to not receive attention.
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In addition, the key point identified in the propaganda work on drowning prevention is how to bring information to households and residential areas, thereby contributing to raising awareness among people and children. However, in reality, radio programs in many localities still pay little attention to this content.
"There were times when, through inspection, we found that radio programs in many localities did not devote enough time to the issue of drowning prevention, and in many places, they barely mentioned it."
Mr. Pham Viet Toa - an expert from the Department of Political and Ideological Affairs, Nghe An Department of Education and Training, also expressed concern when he said that most of the injuries and drownings in children occurred outside of school, on holidays, mostly while the children were working to help their families and playing in ponds, lakes, rivers and streams in the locality. Not to mention, during the long summer vacation, the students are all managed by their families, in difficult economic conditions, many parents rush to work, do not have time to take care of their children...
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| To effectively prevent drowning, children need to be instructed to practice right at swimming pools. Photo: Document |
In fact, the shortcomings in solutions to prevent and combat drowning are obvious. Mr. Le Van Luong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union said: One of the key tasks that the Provincial Youth Union pays special attention to in 2019 is: Deploying a propaganda campaign to prevent and combat drowning accidents for children and adolescents throughout the school year, not waiting for the summer to propagate.
In addition to innovating the form and content of propaganda work in many forms, the Provincial Youth Union Executive Committee also directed the Youth Union bases to organize the installation of drowning warning signs in places with dangerous rivers, streams, and deep ravines, and continue to organize swimming classes, teach escape skills, and rescue drowning... Especially in the summer, the Provincial Youth Union will pay attention to organizing useful and practical recreational activities for youth and children in residential areas, contributing to the management, education, and reduction of unfortunate accidents.
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| Warning signs against drowning in Nghia Long commune (Nghia Dan). Photo: Archive |
In particular, for parents, it is necessary to tighten management and supervision, not to let children freely bathe in rivers, lakes, without adults accompanying them. At the same time, it is necessary to actively coordinate with schools to manage both directions, absolutely not to let students skip school or take advantage of breaks, days off to bathe in rivers, seas... In addition, not only related sectors but also each citizen, especially parents with young children, need to learn knowledge and techniques of first aid for drowning so that they can apply them promptly when an incident occurs.
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