Survival Skill Sets had changed?

Yet another poor kid drowned in a man-made pool.  My heart goes all out for the family and I offer my sincere condolences.  However, looking at the statistics, within the past week, this is already number 4^th case.  Basically for more than half the week there is someone drowning everyday …. This makes me wonder if there is really a trend ….

I am not sure about you guys, but for me, swimming or learning how to swim is one of the most basic survival skills that a child must have or would have picked up along the way while growing up. This is
Singapore and we are an island surrounded by a pool of water. Even if you are not an accomplished Olympic swimmer, at least you should be able to float or paddle to stay afloat.

My personal feeling is that kids nowadays are a whole bunch of deprived lot. Maybe the Mummys and Daddies beg to defer.  They would say “No, my kid is not deprived. Instead, my kid’s life is very enriched…. They go for tuition classes, enrichment classes, ballet classes, singing classes, etc” and the list goes on and on and even toddlers go for pre-school classes to give them a head start before they hit the academic road. But wait a minute, why aren’t there classes for self exploration, for example: climbing trees, catching guppies / fishes by the big drains, interaction with other children of other races / religion, playing catching or marbles?

Engaging in simple activities like those I had listed had prepared and equipped me with the skills I need for life. Recognizing danger and learning the skills like climbing or swimming to overcome that danger.  Maybe those activities do not enrich my wallet, but they had certainly enriched my life but to many parents out there, perhaps those activities maybe a total waste of time and dangerous.   The basic survival skills now is to cultivate skills that fill up the wallet ….