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NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > SWIMMING LESSONS GO AWRY AS DOZENS OF BABIES WASH ASHORE IN CHINA
SWIMMING LESSONS GO AWRY AS DOZENS OF BABIES WASH ASHORE IN CHINA
April 2 2010
Beijing, China – Despite being a product of it, our evolutionary process still remains very much a mystery. With at least 3.7 billion years of life on the planet, everything species that has lived and died has culminated in what lives today. As the apex 
predator and dominant species currently on the planet, human beings are naturally the peak of that process which has seen even great species such as the dinosaurs rise and fall and become relegated to history.
The science behind our history is spotty at best with more gaps than solutions but one running theory that seems to fit with much of what we do know about early mammalian evolution, and ours in particular, is that we at one time inhabited the water. That history could at least in part explain our affinity for the liquid that dominates the bulk of our planet. Even from an early age, children are fascinated by water, bathing in it, playing in it, indicating that our connection with water is deeply bred into the species. Despite that, swimming is still a skill that people have to learn. Though many take to the basics quickly, mastering swimming takes a little more time. Because of that, getting an early start is usually a good idea, something that went tragically wrong for a group of children and their parents in China as the bodies of 21 infants washed ashore after swimming lessons apparently went awry.
“I can confirm that twenty-one bodies of young children washed ashore on the outskirts of the city of Jining. At this time, out of respect for the families, we will not be giving names to the media,” said a spokesperson for the Jining police department. “We are currently investigating the circumstances of the deaths and will be conducting autopsies though early indications are that the children might have drowned. Many of them were far too young to have been able to swim effectively.”
It’s believed that the oldest of the children was no more than a few months old. Experts recommend not even starting the process of swimming until a child is at least a year old, but that most will not be able to swim independently until at least four.
“The simple truth is children under the age of four simply don’t have the strength or the lung capacity to swim in any significant way. They also don’t have the ability to vocalize distress if something were to go wrong. That makes it very dangerous to try and teach infants to swim,” said Scrape TV Health analyst Rebecca Phelps. “I understand that China is very over populated and many people live in less than well funded areas, but teaching a child to swim in the open water is dangerous at any age. You have issues like undertow and currents that can imperil even adults, and putting a child, especially and infant, into that environment is just dangerous and even criminal. This type of thing really shouldn't happen.”
Bodies are routinely found throughout China’s rivers, something officials have long ascribed to poor teaching during youth.
“Human beings are naturally predisposed to swimming. That is the reason we crave it and pursue it. Strictly speaking it isn’t necessary at all but people pursue it and do very well with it, much better than other terrestrial animals. Getting started too early however can be, as we’ve seen here, very dangerous,” continued Phelps. “Try simple things with infants. Play with them in the bath, let them get used to water, and then alongside them attempt swimming. Never leave their side and always do it in a controlled environment such as a pool rather than in the open water. Doing so will only lead to more tragedies.”
The owner of a local swimming school has reportedly been cooperating with police.
Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
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