Florida Swim Coach Has Important Message for Parents About Public Pools

A Florida swim coach has gone viral after telling parents that their children should not be at a pool if they can't swim.

In a viral clip shared Wednesday on TikTok under the username swimcoachkendall, Kendall Duncan says parents should hold their kids at all times while in the water if they can't swim. Otherwise, don't take them to the pool at all.

She says: "I live in Florida. I get it, it's hot and you need a water activity. What about a water splash pad? You don't have a splash pad in your town? That's OK, you can buy one."

She goes on to explain that before getting children all excited about having fun at the pool, they should have the skills to be safe in the water.

The post comes with a caption that says: "Your kid should not be at the pool this summer unless they can swim."

This is followed by: "Can we all make a pact to get our kids swim lessons before we encourage them to play in the pool? Floaties are not a substitute for swim lessons."

Duncan told Newsweek that flotation aids like puddle jumpers make children feel overly confident in their swimming abilities, leading them to take risks they wouldn't otherwise take.

She said: "The artificial buoyancy they provide makes the water fun and swimming feel effortless, and it is absolutely not. When children 'swim' around in these type of aids, their body is put into a vertical swimming posture, known as the drowning position.

"The muscle memory that this creates could be disastrous if the child were to enter a body of water without the float. In addition to the false sense of ability they instill in the kids who wear them, they also lull the parents into a false sense of safety," she said.

Duncan added that even though swim classes may be inaccessible for many because of reasons like costs, location or conflicts with scheduling, there are ways for parents to overcome these challenges.

"If the barrier is financial, there are numerous organizations offering swim lesson scholarships that will cover a portion or even the entire cost of swim lessons," she said. "Live Like Jake is one I've worked with and accepted student scholarships from in the past."

She went on: "If professional swim lessons aren't feasible, I urge parents to take the initiative and teach their own children to swim. We teach our kids how to use the toilet, ride a bike, drive a car...there's no reason we can't teach our children the basics of swimming and water safety. I offer free information online for parents looking to teach their own kids, and I've seen a handful of other swim instructors doing the same.

"Flotation devices are no substitute for independent swimming skills. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 to 4. It's absolutely preventable, and it's time to take some responsibility," she said.

Duncan added that "taking your kids to the pool with the intention to work with them on safe swimming skills is great. Taking them to the pool and strapping on a floatie and calling it a day is a no-go."

A Red Cross survey from 2020 found that over 85 percent of Americans reported knowing how to swim, an increase from 80 percent in a survey from 2014. However, a 2020 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that drowning deaths among people 29 or younger increased by almost 17 percent year over year.

The TikTok video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 35,600 views and 2,150 likes on the platform.

One user, Kels, commented: "I find it wild how many parents aren't teaching their kids to swim? Like maybe it's cause I live on the coast but in my family learning to swim was like learning to walk. We all did it at a young age."

KratkyJ said: "The biggest disservice my parents did was not teach me how to swim. I'm 32 and can't swim."

Aspen Jozee Richards wrote: "I just don't get how avoiding a pool until they know how to swim. How will they learn?"

Heather said: "I got some massive fight with my mother cause I won't take my kids to the pool without an adult per child they're little and need constant eyes."

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