Teach your kids to swim!
 

Horrible tragedy that may have been prevented if they knew how to swim.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100803/...rown_louisiana

its very sad, but what the heck were the teenagers doing in a river to begin with if they knew they couldnt swim?

How can a teenager not know how to swim also? cant you just kick your legs and flap your arms?

That's usually what you do - just before you drown :rolleyes:

the lesson is that if you can't swim, wear a life vest. really, anyone swimming in a river should. there can be dangerous undercurrents, or in this case, a drop off.

I'm guessing that it's in a rural area (I could be 100% wrong). But I would think that there are no (or very limited) facilities/opportunities where kids can learn to swim. The elders didn't know how to swim either, so it probably isn't a priority down there.
Just a horrible story.

well when I do that it keeps me on top of the surface.

maybe there was a current in the river that took them under?

it is a horrible story, & its extra sad knowing that just putting a little thought into the situation before hand would have avoided it.

Blacks in the south, for the most part, don't swim because they've been conditioned to fear water. IT wasn't very long ago when they weren't allowed to swim in public pools, lakes, oceans, etc.