Were You Taught to Swim as a Fundy?

[Away-From-The-Umbrella]

I was surprised how many adults I met in Fundystan who were never taught how to swim. I am certain not being allowed to go to public pools, lakes, or to the beach has a lot to do with this. Unless a family owned their own private pool how could they swim and still meet the dress standards of their church or school?

About two years ago my son went to an all-boys pool party for a sports team. One of his teammates was the son of a fundy pastor (not my former pastor). That kid literally had to be rescued when his hand slipped from the wall (and his mom would have been unable to save him too). Fortunately it was a well supervised party. I did discuss the importance of learning how to swim with her later, and mentioned there were affordable lessons available at our local public pool...None of her children can swim. She just gave me a blank look and totally brushed me off - AFTER HER SON HAD TO BE RESCUED!

This article made me think about the dangers of not teaching children how to swim. Wanda Butts, a CNN Hero, decided it was important to teach children how to swim after her son drowned in 2006, and started a foundation to provide lessons for at-risk kids:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/10/us/cnnhero...hpt=hp_bn1

[zeusTHEgoose]

That's really interesting, because almost every kid I knew growing up in fundydom knew how to swim. I think it has mostly to do with the fact that I live in Arizona though, where it's pretty much mandatory to live in a house with a pool or at least near to one. Of course, they wore large t-shirts over themselves while swimming, which makes their abilities even more staggering :O

[dramaturge]

Most of the people I've know all along could swim, even the really conservative home-schoolers I knew Of course, there are some really out there families that I've seen in the group since whose kids might not know how to, but we always avoided the super-conservative/out-there families when I was growing up. My parents didn't dabble in fundamentalism until later. Of course, we still had to wear t-shirts to swim, even over a one-piece. I think they've had some conflicts in the group since I graduated where they had to avoid mixed swimming because of some involved. All that said, we live in south Louisiana, so not knowing how to swim can, in fact, be life-threatening. I know of one family whose kids don't know how to swim, and that's a real anomaly around here. It's good to know how to swim in places where things tend to flood. lol

[pastor's wife]

My mom was scared of water, but my dad liked to swim and taught us. We had an above-ground pool for several summers and we also would go to the lake sometimes. Our church was fundy-lite and didn't stress extreme clothing standards. My parents were pretty much the only people who wanted their girls in culottes or skirts and they were reasonable. My mom liked us in one-piece bathing suits and preferred the bathing suits with a skirt (which I always thought kind of funny because the skirt was minuscule!), but they never told us to cover up with a t-shirt in the water, thankfully.

[Mark]

Never learned how until I was in college. Still am not too confident in water, but I've come a long way.

[beth]

I took swimming lessons during our transition into the cult. However, shortly thereafter, we joined this church that essentially said anything besides church that gave any enjoyment was a sin. My mom pulled us out of swimming lessons after someone there told her too many of the "project kids" (black kids) used the pool, and that they were dirty. I later almost ended up in a swimming class at BJA. I knew I didn't float (teacher said some people are just like that), and she transferred me to a weight-lifting class. Finally, when my husband and I moved to Panama City, I did get into snorkeling. It was fun, and I float in salt water (between the salt and current, I can stay afloat). That ended when hammerheads moved into the reef.

[elfdream]

I could never float either....I have no idea why not. I always sank.

I didn't learn to swim but that was because I had a mother who wouldn't let me do anything when I was growing up. I think I can keep myself from drowning thanks to the Scouts.... but that's about it.

[Waldo L]

Hrm. I'm a fundy through-and-through, but I took swimming lessons when I was probably 11 or 12. I wore swim trunks and that's it. The girls who were also taking lessons, I don't really remember how much stuff they had to wear. But I still can't swim to save my life. Oops, that actually could be taken literally in this paragraph. As far as I know, I wouldn't be able to save my life if I had to swim to do it.

[SomethingFundy]

I wasn't fundy but knew how and thank God because I had to pass an army swim test, I feel sorry for people going into the navy who were fundy

[Natalie]

My Dad was terrified that we'd drown, so he taught us VERY young. I was in the water as a baby. As a toddler, I learned to go under. At 6 or so, I was swimming to the bottom. By 7ish, my sister taught me to dive. By 10, I was back-diving and at 12, I was learning rescue.

I never remember a time when I couldn't swim. I also taught HF how to swim.